


Universal Dimensions PMD: Dimensional Dungeons

by Diamond4luck



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Gen, Minecraft, Mystery Dungeon, PMD, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-07 19:08:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 61,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21463060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diamond4luck/pseuds/Diamond4luck
Summary: After being blown from the TNT explosion and into the portal, Taiki has now entered the universe of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, a universe where Pokemon talked and there are Mystery Dungeons to explore. Taiki, now a Pokemon, had no clue where to go and lost some of his memories due to the impact.  After teaming up with a Riolu named Rocky, the duo set out to accomplish Rocky's dreams while finding the broken parts of the Dimensional Amulet that are scattered around the region. But, little did they know that Darkoir found out that Taiki was still alive, thus he sent some of his best commanders to create unimaginable havoc to the world, disguising as ordinary Pokémon. Can Taiki remember his ultimate goal and stop the world from collapsing?
Kudos: 2





	1. In the Universe

Taiki's body came out from the other side of the portal, and was now floating aimlessly. As he was hit with supreme force from the portal frame, he was unconscious. Because of the impact as well, his Dimensional Amulets came out from his inventory, and too were floating towards random directions, except two that were worn by him.

Near Taiki's unconscious body, there was a spinning blue hole that seemed to be pulling space like how a black hole does. When Taiki was close to the hole, he was sucked into the hole, and went into the universe of Pokémon. Only this time, it was a different type of Pokemon universe. One that Taiki would have never expected.

...

...

After a long while in the world, he was suddenly conscious. "Urgh... my head hurts," Taiki spoke. The pain from his head was extremely painful, and to him, it was unbearable. Try as he might, he could not even open his eyes due to the pain that caused him to only clutch his wounded head. He forced his eyes to open a bit, and a bright light blinded his eyes, which made him wince and closed his eyes again. He could not do anything with the pain that has momentarily paralysed his body with even more pain. Taiki thought it could be from... from what? He could not remember. He was in way too much pain to recollect his memories, and even thinking about it only caused more pain to his head.

Suddenly, the pain vanished. He was surprised; he knew that his kind can heal fast with a full belly or a health potion, but as he was a bit famished and had no potions with him, he found it quite odd for the pain to be gone in an instant. Now that he can move his body parts without the pain stopping him, he got up and used his arms to block his eyes as he opened them slowly. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he found himself in a white place. No buildings, no skies, nothing.

"Where... where am I?" Taiki asked the white space. He got up, and was surprised that his body wasn't as badly wounded as he thought. He remembered fighting with someone, and that someone injured him and left him in a bad shape. Then... explosions... and... now he's here. He tried to recall his memories, starting from what had caused him to be here, but nothing. He does remember about his research though, and the portal. And the Dimensional Amulets. He was about to reach for his inventory when a voice can be heard through his head.

"Human..."

Taiki screamed a bit. "Gahh!" He turned around, expecting to see someone, but he saw no one, except the endless white space. "Hello?" was all he could say, still taken aback by the sudden voice in his head.

"Human... can you hear me...?"

He looked around again. No one. How did someone speak to him but did not know where the source was from? Was it... a ghost? Was he in the afterlife? Although a bit scared to accept this unproven fact, he told the space, "Um, yes. I can hear you..."

"Really? Awesome! I've tried to contact a human for MONTHS! Finally, young human, I have found you at last!" the voice shouted with excitement. Taiki immediately closed his ears, but to no effect, as if... wait.

"You're using... telepathy?" Taiki asked again.

"Wow, a smart one indeed! Looks like I may have chosen the best of the best! Thank the lucky stars I was able to find a reliable one!" The voice shouted again, and from the tone of the voice, he...or was it she... was excited about the fact.

"Ok, whatever you are, do you mind talking in a quieter voice? My ears feel like they're about to explode!" Teiki told the voice from his head. And it was true, since the shouts were giving Taiki a really painful headache. Not as bad as before, but it was still arduous.

"Sorry! I was just excited! It's really hard to contact someone from another world, so you gotta gimme some credit here. Anyway, are you ready for some questions?" the voice asked Taiki. Taiki was confused. Here he was, in an unknown world with a possibility of memory loss, now had to answer some questions from a voice that he did not even know yet. "What...questions?" Taiki asked the voice in his head.

"Oh, you didn't know much, right? Well, it's a question I cannot answer, okay? I know you are confused and much, but if I explain the situation, you may attempt to finish it quickly without much experience. So, it's best if you don't know anything for now." the voice told him. Taiki was a bit irritated, but thought that it was for the best. After all, he was dreading the possibilities if the voice decided to show their wrath should he disobey, since this is their world anyway."

"Alright, I guess," Taiki said in a defeated tone, his head lowered and gave a short sigh.

"Good, good!" the voice exclaimed. "Now, please answer them honestly, and maybe even from the bottom of your heart, as these questions will determine yourself later on." Taiki nodded, although unsure if the voice could actually see him nodding. Apparently they can since they started their first question.

"First question: You discover a beat-up-looking treasure chest in some ruins. What do you do?"

Taiki replied, "Um, what?"

The voice was a bit miffed. "That's the question. I mean there will be a few more but I need your input to determine your personality."

"Wha- why? What do you need my personality for?" Taiki questioned the voice.

"Ugh, just do it! I don't have much energy left before I can keep using telepathy to communicate!"

"Okay, okay! I'll... open it up and check the loot. Risk and reward, am I right?"

"I suppose. Onto the next question!"

After answering a few more questions, including the one where he was asked if he was a boy or a girl, which he did not get at all, since his voice was obviously a male tone. "Alright, good. I think I got it right." the voice said. "Finally. By the way, what are you? What's your name? Ever since I was in this world, you just talked to me through telepathy, but you didn't mention once about your name."

The voice giggles. "Oh, really? Well, you'll know soon enough. I think it's time for you to get going!" Just as Taiki asked "Get going? What do you mean, where do I-", a loud, whooshing sound can be heard from all directions, and then the ground shakes violently, causing him to fall down to his head. Taiki did his best to get up, but the sheer amount of the shaking caused him to fall down again after each attempt of getting up. Then, everything stopped. The world goes dark, and suddenly, he was unable to move. His body went weak, caused him to lay down, and the only body part that was working was his eyes, but being unable to move terrified him. He closed his eyes, and prayed that it will all stop soon.

While Taiki was still busy answering questions in his dream, a portal frame appeared block by block at a wall of a hill, right inside a Mystery Dungeon. The portal suddenly became activated, as the purple aura came from all directions and filled the portal frame. And then, from the portal, out came Taiki's body. The force that made him came out was so strong, that he was basically thrown to the ground, and the impact caused one of his Dimensional Amulets to split into 4 fragments each. Then, each of the fragments flew out from the place where they were split, and flew to random directions. The fragments gave off a trail of different colours as they flew.

One of the fragments just happens to land at a destroyed town. It was destroyed just a few days ago, being invaded by a group of Pokémon that tends to destroy every town or settlement they could find. Not much was known about the group, as the Pokémon that destroyed those towns were known to be quite ruthless, and they often leave without a trace. Some say they were possessed, others say that they are working for a goal that no one really understood. All in all, the actions that those Pokémon made has made everyone terrified and on edge.

But not one Pokémon. There is actually one more that's still hasn't given up hope on this place yet.

The Pokémon was wandering at the ruins of the town, with his handbag at his side. Everywhere he looked, it was only pain, destruction, and suffering. There weren't any more Pokémon that lived in this town anymore. But, that Pokémon was still determined to get this place back up again, as his memories of this town are tight and strong. In fact, he was raised here; and before the invasion, he was living a happy, peaceful life and enjoyed the presence of the different kinds of Pokémon that live or visit here. He was especially curious about what adventures the wanderers have when they came to this town, and ever since his adventurous spirit was created and strengthened to revive this place once more.

Alright... how do I start this, though? the Pokémon pondered. It was going to be a hard journey to take, and considering that every single Pokémon that once lived here had either taken refuge at the nearby forests, stuck in dungeons, or maybe even moved on from the town and wandered to a new one. If he wants to revive the town once more, he needs Pokémon that are willing to help him rebuild, reach out to the surviving villagers, and defend in case it was going to be raided again. He actually did ask for help from the nearby villages that are nearby, but everyone laughed it off or ignored him, because he was still a kid. No one believed that a kid is desperate to revive his hometown that kept him safe, happy, and in peace. Every time he was rejected, despair was always trying to make him give up, but his determination to bring back the good old days in the town held his spirits high, like always.

"Once the town is fully replenished, I'll show them that even as a kid, I can make big changes in the world. Just you wait!" He laughed it off and was a bit proud of this bold act that he is going to do. All he needs is some guidance and a bit of help.

Out of the blue, he noticed something flying from above, but it wasn't a Pokémon. It looked like... an item, it seems. Odd, how does an item fly that high? the Pokémon wondered. He ran towards the direction of the now falling item, not taking his eyes off it. He had near misses of getting hit by a tree branch, some debris, and the walls of the ruins, but he just kept running, trying to figure what the flying item is. Eventually, it crashed at a small building, causing dust to scatter around the place. After a while, the Pokémon finally made it to the ruin, panting while leaning against a wall to catch his breath. He then went to investigate what the item was that caught his interest. It was... a fragment, of something. It was made out of a dark purple object, and it was his first time he had saw anything like it. When he picked it up to observe, he didn't notice that when he took the fragment, it caused some cracks around the wall as the walls were quite fragile due to the war that happened a few years ago. The cracks went up, then across the room, and a big crack appeared right on top of the Pokémon's head. Suddenly, the ceiling broke, and a heavy mass landed right on top of the Pokémon. The Pokémon was unable to move, unable to launch any move that could get him out from the situation. As his vision began to blur, he quickly placed the fragment into his bag, while hoping that someone could find him in the abandoned town.

...

...

"Oof..."

"Ow..."

"What... happened...? Wasn't I... trapped?"

"I... I think I'm free from... whatever that was... that was an awful introduction, anyway..."

Taiki rolled to the side so that his face was up onto the sky. A pleasant breeze touched his face, and it felt comforting.

"Wow... it's pretty cool here. I can feel the pleasant breeze... I could just stay here forever, but I need to get up..."

Taiki used his... hands... to push him up. He opened his eyes but was a bit blinded by the light, but eventually, his eyes adjusted to it. Taiki looked around him. It was a small clearing full of trees, a small waterfall, and a portal frame behind him. He was a bit interested in the portal frame. "Hm. Didn't know that portal frames created themselves when they're in a new... wait."

"I'm in... another universe?! I'M ACTUALLY IN ANOTHER UNIVERSE!! IT WORKED! THE PORTAL WORK- *koff *koff" Taiki was coughing profusely, but he was still laughing and smiling about it. "Oh man, I can't believe I was the first, THE FIRST, to arrive in a new place. Speaking of which, where am I this time? Oh well, I should get *koff *koff" He coughed again. "Ahem, a drink of water. Ah, there's a waterfall." He walked towards the rushing waters of the waterfall, and the sounds of water splashing actually calmed his mind a bit. Closing his eyes, he used his... hands... and drank some water. "Oh... the water's really fresh... I feel alive again!" Upon opening his eyes again to have another drink, he saw... a Pikachu.

"Arrrghhh!!!" he shouted, as he thought he saw an entity beside him. He fell into the waterfall, and into the cold water. In an instant, he got up again, still shocked that an entity suddenly came up beside him all of a sudden. But as he wiped his eyes from the freezing water, he saw no one. There were no footsteps that indicate a startled living being, nor any sign that he scared it off. But as he wiped his eyes, he noticed that his skin... was a bit yellow, with some fur. Taiki thought it was some illusion, but his curiosity eventually made his other... paw to touch it. He felt the skin, the yellow fur. Everything. Then he looked down at his reflection from the water. What he saw was a yellow face with pointy ears, and red cheeks with a rectangular-like tail behind him. He was turned into a Pikachu.

"Wait, WHAT? HOW DID I... HOW IS THIS... WHAT?! Is... this even real?" He pinched himself on the cheek, which resulted in making a small zap from it. "Woah! Ow!" he pulled his paw away from his cheek. He got up from the waterfall, and got out from it while he felt himself to see if it was reality or still a dream. He touched his tail first. He can feel it. Then, his paws. Already certain that he can. His hind paws. As real as it can be. His pointy ears. Pretty soft. But the question he had was, how? How did he transform into a Pikachu? From his book, there are supposed to be humans and Pokémon living together, but how come he was turned into a Pokémon instead? It doesn't make any sense to him, and started to think that not all information from the book was right after all.

Although he panicked from this sudden fact, he eventually calmed himself down by taking deep breaths. Now that he was a bit calm, he observed his body, trying to remember what kind of Pokémon he was. "Alright, alright... Um, from the books, I think I am a Pikachu, which is both good and weird. So I have, like electrical powers now... judging from the zap I got." He touched his red cheek again, which gave a little jolt.

"Then again... maybe it was from the "personality test" that happened through my dream, but it's a hunch. But alright, although I am now a Pokémon, it's safe to say that I should be grateful for it. I mean, being a Pokémon is way less terrifying than being a human, for the other Pokémon, at least." he told himself. "Alright... what's my next move though?" he asked himself, as he was still new to this universe, and he doesn't know how to use his powers properly. He thought about it for a while, before deciding what he should do next.

"Hmm... maybe I can find someone who knows how to unleash my powers... but then again, the creatures in this world only talk through cries of their own names, so I guess I have to figure it out through body language, I guess." On his left, he saw a path towards the deep forest. He could saw some shadows from the forest, indicating that in the forest, there's bound to be enemies or potential allies. Feeling a bit adventurous, Taiki walked with his hind paws, and into the unknown forest, hoping to find a town, or at least, civilisation. After going through the forest, he was destined to meet a Pokémon that will become one of his best friends throughout his journey.


	2. A New Partner

As he set paw into the unknown forest, Taiki noticed a sign on his right that says "Protia Forest. Mystery Dungeon. Go with caution." At this point, he had never known what a Mystery Dungeon is. He didn't recall the word being mentioned in his books. "Too bad I don't have a book and quill... I can jot down details from this universe." He said to the open plains of the forest. "I wonder what the sign meant by going with caution... nevertheless, I need to be wary about my surroundings."

The forest was covered with trees, as expected, but what puzzled him is the open clearings and the items he'd never seen before. There were different kinds of berries, some sharp sticks, and even some pieces of clothing. _Why are items scattered like this? Was it... because there's something dangerous up ahead? _He pondered, while having his chest heavy with worry. As he walked, there is a really cool-looking scarf that's laying on the grass floor. Taiki examined it, checking some signs if there's a previous owner or not, since he was actually interested on wearing it. None indicated a name nor a sign about the previous owner, so he wrapped it around his neck and tied it. It was comfy, light, and flexible, which helped him to go around with ease.

He had uncovered every single corner of the floor, yet he was unable to find a way out. Getting a bit desperate, he went to the entrance that he came from, only to find it missing into thin air. Not letting go of hope, he desperately tried to find anyone that is currently exploring the forest, be it man or Pokémon. Luckily for him, he spotted two Pokémon, one is a Pidget and another is a Rattata. Both looked like they are out of focus, and what's strange is when he moves, the Pokémon moved, and when he stopped, they stopped as well. Taiki was a bit odd about their movements, but paid no attention to the detail, as he finally found some company to help him out from the forest.

When he got close to them however, just when he was about to say, "Hello, Pokémon! Can you two help me outta this forest?" the Rattata leapt onto him and hit him hard. Not expecting a sudden attack, Taiki took the hit and was knocked back, clutching the pain on his chest. "Wha- What did I do to you?!" he exclaimed, set aback by this sudden behaviour of those Pokémon. Just as he got up, still clutching his wound, the Pidgey tackled him, sending him flying to the ground. Although the tackle was quite weak, it still gave him pain. "Hey, calm down! I mean no harm!" he exclaimed to the Pokémon, but it was no use as they continue to send out move after move, and it was tiring Taiki out.

_Is... is this their natural instinct? To harm whatever that was on their way? _Taiki thought as he dodged another Tackle from the Rattata. Pidgey sent an Air Slash towards him, but he was aware of the attack, and dodged to safety. _No. If that's their instinct, that... um... Pidgey would've hurt the Rattata. or vice versa._ He wanted to know more about their motive to harm him, but as the attacks had gotten more aggressive and more difficult to dodge, he decided to take initiative. But, as he did not know his electric moves, he simply did a Tackle to the Rattata, which knocked it to the ground. As for the Pidgey, he failed to tackle it since it began to fly in the air, preparing for a move called Gust. It launched the attack, which made him to almost lose balance, but was still stable enough to land a punch at the Pidgey that stopped flying as it just finished using its move.

Finally, without warning, he shouted to the now-injured Pokémon, "HEY! What's the big deal? I did not harm you guys, so why did you guys fight me, huh? Just because I don't know you two doesn't mean you have to fight me!" he shouted at them. Unknown to him, he just used Growl, which lowered their attack power upon hearing the scream. However, they ignored what Taiki said, as they just keep launching their moves, despite their moves were a bit weakened. He was dumbfounded. Apparently being rational about it doesn't work, and no matter what, they'll keep attacking as long as he is alive, as if they're being controlled or something.

Finally, Taiki decided to go all-out offensive. He repeatedly punched the two Pokémon, and although it was weak, that's all he knew that could possibly deal some damage. He tried to do Tackle sometimes, but half of the times he'll just miss while they launched an attack on his back. Their power was a bit weakened, but they are strong to stay conscious to be in battle, which had him worried. _I got to weaken them physically. What kind of moves does a Pikachu use? Think, Taiki!_ He pondered as he stood back to catch his breath, but he didn't notice the Rattata doing a Tackle from his side. He spun rapidly while falling, and as he landed roughly into the grass, he quickly got up, and targetted at Rattata. What he noticed however, is that it seemed... weakened. Not by power, but it seemed like it's defence that was being weakened. Taiki had accidentally used a move, but what? He ransacked his brain to figure out what he did to weaken it, and he realized that his tail had weakened it by the move Tail Whip. From his book, Tail Whip doesn't deal damage, but it lowers an enemy's defence. _Alright! Time to finish this!_ Taiki showed his tail to Rattata and gave it a whip, and seeing that Rattata was affected by it, he punched it straight at its body, which made it knocked out. "So that's how. Pretty cool, and effective as well!" he said.

Suddenly, he heard a strong wind blowing, and he turned just in time to see another Gust being cast straight to him before he dodged the attack. Taiki did the same technique to the Pidgey, and after landing a solid hit, it too has fainted as well.

Taiki sat down quickly, trying to recover from the attacks the Pidgey and Rattata made. He was clearly exhausted, and with the wounds from the attack, it's clear that if this goes on, he would probably faint from the pain as well. Although he was a bit tired, he was amazed to himself on the fact that he managed to know 3 moves by accident, which is Growl, Tackle, and Tail Whip. He decided to use the same strategy against enemies, with the addition of Tackle as his main damage dealer, although he kind of prefered good old punches. After a bit of rest, still bearing the pain from his chest, he got up, adjusted his scarf, and continued to find a way out, leaving the two fainted Pokémon on the grass.

Eventually, he found a staircase that led up to another ground. "Finally! There's a staircase!" he clamoured. In this universe, if one is in a Mystery Dungeon and found a staircase, it meant you are in the right step, as the stairs help you progress into the forest. Being a bit eager to hopefully get out from the forest, he climbed up the stairs, only to realize that it only meant more clearings of the forest. Taiki almost fainted out of exhaustion and frustration, given that there's bound to be more of those hostile Pokémon.

During his exploration of the Mystery Dungeon, he found out that the berries from the ground are actually quite useful. The blue berries, which he had realized it's an Oran Berry, apparently healed his pain and wounds. As he did not have a bag, nor his old inventory back at his universe, he could only carry one item at a time, which he chose to carry Oran Berries as a source for healing. There were also some Sleep Seeds that, once eaten, made the user sleep for a while. He thought that it could be useful for escaping, but he eventually left them, as he did not have anything to put them into.

Although exploring the Mystery Dungeon was tiring, confusing and sometimes, a bit hard, but he actually liked the fact where you can't expect what's next, and what loot you can acquire from them, which brings up his adventurous and enthusiastic side. Battling with the other Pokémon can be a bit hard, as he doesn't know what most of the Pokémon that lived here were, along with the moves casted by them. Despite that, he found it interesting to see the different types of Pokémon that he saw and battled, such as a Caterpie, Weedle, and a Machop as well. He took mental notes to remind him of what he encountered, and what moves they usually do, so he can understand them better and use tactics that can easily defeat them. Overall, Taiki thinks that this universe can be a bit different from the one he knew, but it was a great experience and a good challenge for him.

Finally, after he climbed the 7th stairs, he found a paved road, with a sign that says, "You are now on your way to Estoria Town. If you are entering this forest, it is called Protia Forest. Mystery Dungeon. Go with caution." Taiki sighed with relief. "Whew, finally got out from the Mystery Dungeon... the signs are right to tell us on our guard. I wonder what's up with the hostility of the Pokémon though?" Taiki said to himself as he walked along the path to the town. "Oh well, civilisation is just right around this path. Hopefully, I can learn about my electric moves there, since Tackle isn't really a powerful move." The leaves rustled and the breeze touched his fur as he walked along the path, enjoying the wonderful scenery of the normal forest. Some Pidgey cries can be heard above the skies, and given that they didn't attack Taiki for no reason, he figured that they are passive.

He's a bit puzzled about the Mystery Dungeons, however. Why did the Pokémon suddenly attack him? Was it truly their instinct to fight anything that stands in their way, or they're just somehow hostile when in the forest? His left pointy ear bent a bit as he pondered the possibilities about the reasons for their aggressive behaviour, his paw touching his lower part of his mouth, making him look like he's in deep thought. _This universe can be really confusing... Mystery Dungeons? I've never seen a word like that before in the books..._

After a while, some buildings were into view. His adrenaline was pumped, due to the fact that he can finally meet Pokémon that were possibly not hostile, and knowing how a life being a Pokémon feels like. But, when he got closer to the town, his jaw dropped, heart sank, and a little bit worried. The town was destroyed, leaving some ruins and craters with some marks that prove a lot of moves were used, indicating some sort of warfare. Some buildings were blown to bits, others were left with cracks and burns. He could feel an aura of negativity just from the town alone, along with despair that he knew too well.

_What happened here... there's so much destruction in the town... Is there still some that stayed behind, despite the calamity?_ Taiki pondered, while he ran towards the town with his four paws. Realizing that he had never run with four paws before, he had a stumble and fell on his stomach. "Ow. Maybe I should try to run with my hind paws..." he told himself. That was eventually an awful idea as well, since he couldn't run faster than how he ran with his four paws. "Oh well, four paws it is then. Man, this is a bit of a challenge."

...

...

As Taiki continued to run with his paws, there are two Pokémon that are hiding in the bushes, looking at the Pikachu that stumbled when it attempted to run. "Haha! Oh my Arceus, that was funny!" told Pancham to his ally, Salandit. "Yeah, look how he runs! It's like he hasn't run before when it's a Pichu! It's ludicrous!" replied the Salandit which he clutched on its legs while he laughed. While he laughed, Pancham thought about the Pikachu, and suddenly he had a nefarious idea.

"Hmm... I have an idea, Salandit."

"Hm? What is it?" questioned the Salandit.

Pancham whispered through Salandit's ears, and while hearing his plans, he nodded with excitement, knowing that the plan is going to help them out in the long run while getting some laughs about it.

"Brilliant idea. Pancham. Let's go."

...

...

After a lot of bumps and falls, Taiki finally got the hang of running with his 4 paws. He noticed that it was somehow faster than how he used to run back in his universe. Ignoring that fact, he arrived at the entrance of the town. The gates were ruined, covered in moss, and the walls do not need more explaining, as they have been broken to bits. The atmosphere was... frightening, as it's eerie and more similar to a ghost town. Anything could happen, and Taiki was a bit uneasy about it. He continued to wander around the town, finding any source of life that remained in this deserted place. "Hello? Is anyone here?" he shouted through the empty space, with some echo bouncing back to him. No one replied. No sounds were made. Nothing happened at all. Taiki sighed. At the time when he found somewhere that can help him to use his electric moves, no one was even at sight, as if fate was saying, "Not that easily, little one."

Despite having a heavy heart that tells him to stop searching and find another town, Taiki still hasn't given up hope yet, for he wanted to explore until the ends of it. He looked left and right. Nothing. No Pokémon. Eventually, he was in the middle of the town, which has a fountain with a roundabout. He looked around him, hoping against hope that he could find someone, anyone, that has stayed behind. That's when he saw something blue underneath some rocks that was under a building.

Feeling curious, Taiki went over the rubble and inspected the blue thing. He could see some blue fur, and it seems like... _Wait a minute. This is a Pokémon! _As fast as his little paws could, he lifted the rocks one by one, uncovering the Pokémon that was trapped beneath the rocks and rubble. When the Pokémon was not stuck by the rocks, at last, he quickly carried it and placed him gently on the floor. He could not recognize the Pokémon, but that wasn't important for now. He checked his pulse from the Pokémon's paw. _His pulse is still there, but it wasn't anything good._ He thought. He tried different kinds of methods to revive the fainted Pokémon, such as splashing it with water from the fountain, pushed its chest, or just gently shaking it. None worked. Out of options left, he put the Oran Berry into its mouth, in hopes that the berry would do its thing and revive him. Suddenly, the Pokémon bit the berry, and started to chew. "Alright, buddy. You're safe..." he whispered to the Pokémon.

Eventually, the Pokémon woke up. Taiki just sat there, waiting for it to be conscious again after the berry has been fully eaten. The Pokémon groaned, clutching its head. Taiki asked the Pokémon, "Hello! Are you okay? The rocks damaged you by a ton, so I gave you my Oran Berry and healed you up!" He expected the Pokémon to say its name to respond, but it said, "Urgh, thanks a lot, Pikachu." Taiki screamed, shocked that the Pokémon can actually speak. As far as he know, Pokémon can not talk like how he can, and it was also proved when he battled with the Pokémon inside Protia Forest. Sure, they talked, but they only said their name as their cry.

"Woah! Are you okay? Sorry to startle you!" the Pokémon said to Taiki who stepped back in confusion.

"You...you talked?! I thought Pokémon could not talk in English!" Taiki replied, his expression was still in shock.

"Of course I am! And look who's talking, you're a Pokémon as well!"

"Well... sure, but I'm different!"

"Different? Care to elaborate further?"

"Oh, um......"

Taiki did not know how to respond. If he told him the truth, it could not believe him. _But, it's no use to lie to him as well, and it could backfire when we get together well in the future. Might as well."_ He thought.

"Well... I'm a human. From another universe." Taiki finally replied to the Pokémon.

"Wait...what? A human? But those are just legends from a story! And what do you mean, 'from another universe'? Are you...a time traveller?" the Pokémon asked, bewildered.

"What? No! I came to this place because... actually, I don't know. I might've lost some of my memories when I got here."

"Makes sense. Oh, by the way, do you know what this is?" the Pokémon reached out for his handbag, opened it, and grabbed a fragment. He showed it to Taiki. "Seen this before?"

Taiki was shocked. _How did he get it?_ Taiki wondered. "Yeah, it's one of my stuff. It's called a Dimensional Amulet. When it breaks into four parts, it will scatter throughout the-" Then, Taiki realized something dreadful. "WAIT, MY DIMENSIONAL AMULETS! Oh no, oh no no no..." _The Dimensional Amulets! How could I forget it? Alright, let me see if I had worn one..._ He checked his neck, and under the scarf it was the Dimensional Amulet that he had worn long before he went into the portal. _Oh yeah, silly me... if I didn't wear one I've been long gone._

"Are...are you alright? You had me worried there, Pikachu." the Pokémon asked in a worried tone. He saw him suddenly into panic mode, worrying about his... Dimensional Amulet. But then he suddenly calmed himself down, which was weird for him.

"Oh yeah, I'm alright. Just worried about where the rest of them went. By the way, what kind of Pokémon are you? I've never seen one like you in the books before." Taiki asked him, for he did not know what his kind was.

"I'm a Riolu. A Fighting-type Pokémon. People call me Rocky. What about you? Surely you have a name rather than be called Pikachu, right?" Rocky replied.

"Yeah. I'm Taiki. Nice to meet you, I guess." Taiki answered.

"Heh, if we wanted to introduce ourselves, that's way before you panicked about the amulet. Oh yeah, here you go." Rocky handed the Dimensional Fragment to Taiki. Taiki smiled, as he finally got one of the four fragments back. "Thank yo-"

Suddenly, two Pokémon appeared out of nowhere and right into Taiki. They slammed him with their bodies, and he with the fragment went off flying. The fragment slipped out from his paw, and it flew right near them. Pancham grabbed it before putting it back to his handbag. Rocky, who was in shock of the whole incident, exclaimed, "Hey! What was that for?"

Pancham gave off a smirk, and said, "None of your business. Your Pikachu here has something really valuable, and we think we can sell it off for money!" The Salandit beside him warned Rocky, "If you dare to get it back, you'll be sorry. You're just a weakling like that Pikachu." Rocky was taken aback. What kind of Pokémon would do such horrible things? Although Rocky was a bit terrified about their pressence, he finally got the courage to say, "Where do you come from? Why would you guys do this?" This made Pancham and Salandit laugh. It's not a good laugh, and Rocky knew it. "Wh-What's so funny?" Pancham stopped laughing, and replied in an evil tone. "Oh, right! Don't you remember us? We're the ones along with our comrades who attacked your town!"

"YOU WHAT?" Rocky shouted so loud it made Taiki, who was still recovering from their attack, cringed a bit. "As for our actions, well..." Pancham continued, "we just wanted to be known and feared globally. Those who challenged our group will be given no mercy. Let me tell you something. If you and your friend wanted the fragment so bad, come to Shervile Hills. That's where we will battle for the fragment. But, given that you two are deemed too weak, I suggest to let us sell it and no harm will befall. You have my warning."

And with that, Pancham and Salandit walked away towards Shervile Hills.

Taiki and Rocky were momentarily stunned from what they had witnessed just now. A group that wants to be an unstoppable and evil presence in this world... and it looks like they weren't kidding about it. Taiki got up, now feeling a bit better from their tackle, and said to Rocky who was trembling from the warning, "I'm so sorry about that. Seeing the Pokémon that ransacked your town... it's hard for you to bear it." Silence. Rocky wasn't saying anything, and was awfully quiet about it. Although Taiki himself was a Pikachu, he could feel the uneasy aura that surrounded Rocky, which made his heart sank. But, they got his important fragment, and he knew that if it were to be sold, he could not get back to his own universe.   
  
Without a second thought, he decided. "Rocky, how about we go get some payback?"

"...what?"

"You heard me. We should go to Shervile Hills and bring upon justice for your town, while I get my fragment back."

Rocky finally looked at Taiki in the eye. His expression was a bit confused, and from the looks of it, he was actually worried about Pancham and Salandit. They looked strong; and from the tackle that they did to Taiki, he knows that he and Taiki stood no chance. But, something about what Taiki said has sparked something within him. It wasn't revenge, nor was it justice. It was a feeling he hadn't felt in months after the town was raided, but he decided to explore those feelings later.

"Yeah... let's go. Are you sure though?" Rocky replied, feeling uneasy about the danger they will face.

"I'm certain. That fragment is important, sure, but we gotta make sure they won't think about coming back to mess with us." Taiki smirked.

Rocky smiled. "Yeah. Let's go get them."

And so, they left to Shervile Hills, tracking down Pancham and Salandit.

Shervile Hills is another Mystery Dungeon, judging from the signs near the entrance. Although Taiki was a bit worried about the hostile Pokémon that lurked in there, but with Rocky as his ally, he feels that they could make it until the end of the dungeon. Rocky felt that the Pikachu was weird, seeing that he didn't use any electric moves but only the same combination of Growl, Tail Whip and a Tackle, but he figured that, as a human, he's still learning to use his moves. Besides, it was a pretty effective combo, as those who survived Rocky's Force Palms got to witness Taiki's finisher combo.

After a while of climbing stairs, collecting some berries, and defeated some hostile Pokémon, they reached the end of the dungeon. It was a steep cliff that leads to the peak of Shervile Hills, and it was known to be a place where people can see the entire town from above and enjoy the breathtaking scenery. However, they weren't here to enjoy the view, as they had a mission to complete.

As Taiki walked along with Rocky at the steep stairs, he heard a ruffle at the bushes to his left. He stopped in his tracks and looked to see what made the noise. Except for a bush and a few trees, he saw no one. Rocky noticed that Taiki stopped walking, so he asked, "What's the holdup?"

"Huh?" Taiki said, before turning back to Rocky. "It was probably nothing, just the wind blowing the trees." Taiki began to catch up with Rocky, but he couldn't help it but feel that someone is watching them. He began to feel uneasy about it, and the thought that Pancham and Salandit could be the ones who made the sounds worried him. But, he figured that it was really the wind giving him a scare, thus he brushed it off.

After a while of walking, they finally reached the summit. There, Taiki and Rocky could see two silhouettes that stood against the setting sun on a cliff, their hands clutching their waists. The left silhouette is holding something on his paw, and Taiki assumed it was his Dimensional Fragment. They moved forward and gave out a slight cough to get their attention. Pancham and Salandit perked up, obviously not expecting anyone to be up the hill with them. Both of them turned around, and was a little surprised that Taiki and Rocky appeared before them.

"Well, well, well. Look who had shown up." Pancham said in a low, menacing voice.

"Are you two really that desperate for your little fragment here? Pancham, it must've meant it's really valuable! More than enough reasons to not give them back, I'd say." Salandit scoffed.

"You two, return my Dimen- I mean my fragment back, and we'll do no harm. I am not looking forward to a fight, but if a fight's you want, it's a fight you'll get." Taiki warned them, his paws clenched into little fists.

"You guys may be strong, but can't we just have some peace for a while? You and your group just RAIDED my town quite recently, you know. Do no more harm, or the harm will be for you instead." Rocky said, his eyes glared at both of them.

"HA! Like we'll easily give you your fragment back that easily. Remember, Pikachu; you could not even run properly, so to think you may be stronger than me is quite a mistake, buddy. I bet you can't even fight!" Pancham smirked at Taiki, pocketed the fragment into his bag, and prepared itself for a battle.

"Considered yourselves warned," replied Taiki.

Rocky let out a Force Palm towards Pancham, who easily dodged to the side. But as Pancham would know later on, he made his first mistake. Just as he dodged to his right, he didn't notice Taiki let out a Tail Whip to him, and in an instant, he felt weak. Salandit launched a Poison Gas towards Rocky, but he easily dodged it and gave Salandit a Force Palm, which Salandit dodged as well. As the two tried their best to overpower each other, Taiki confronted Pancham, who was still reeling from his Tail Whip.

As quick as lightning, Taiki did a Tackle, but Pancham rolled to the side and used Dark Pulse towards him. Unable to dodge the attack, Taiki was hit by it and was knocked back, but managed to stop himself from rolling backwards. Taiki knew that, since he doesn't know how to use ranged attacks, he needs to be more careful and try to get closer to Pancham. _He is indeed skilful, but given that he has a boastful and a high ego-personality, his guard can be down if I do it right. _Pancham did a Body Slam towards Taiki, but given that his attack was quite slow, Taiki sidestepped the attack, which made him fell to the ground. Seeing his chance, he did a Tackle towards the still recovering Pancham. But Pancham knew this while he missed, so he rolled to the side again.

"You're good, I'll give you that, but don't think you will win that easily." Pancham intimidated Taiki who got up from his Tackle attack. "Heh. I did not expect your slam to be that slow, by the way." Taiki tried to anger him, which it worked. "YOU DARE TO QUESTION MY POWER? I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT A REAL FIGHT IS!" Pancham screamed, while launching a couple of Dark Pulses towards Taiki. Sensing the anger from his face, he knew that he would not stop launching without a break, which could tire him out. After a while, the amount of Dark Pulses were gradually decreased, and Pancham looked a bit pale and exhausted, but he wasn't letting up.

Suddenly, Taiki ran with his four paws towards Pancham, which caused him to slightly panic and launched a few Dark Pulses to attack, but most of them hit the ground, sending off smoke while others were dodged. One particular Dark Pulse exploded a few meters near Pancham, which caused a dark smoke. Pancham suddenly saw something moving from the smoke, and with no energy left to dodge, he just stood there and took Taiki's Tackle, and since he was weakened by Taiki's Tail Whip, he was knocked backwards and rolled near the edge of the hill, not fainted but was really exhausted.

While Taiki and Pancham were still fighting, Salandit dodged another Force Palm that Rocky launched. Salandit did a Flame Burst towards Rocky, which he barely dodged, but the fire singed his fur a bit. Ignoring the pain, he did a Quick Attack towards Salandit, but as Salandit quickly launched a Smog, he missed him, not realizing that he was now at the cliff of the hill. Seeing Rocky being near the edge, Salandit had an idea. Without warning, he jumped up high and launched Ember, but with Rocky's Foresight, the attacked missed as Rocky jumped backward, not realizing that he was near the edge. Salandit dashed towards Rocky, and although Rocky launched some Force Palms at the direction of Salandit, it was easily dodged and soon he was near Rocky and initiated Double Slap just as Pancham was knocked backwards by Taiki's Tackle. Taiki, realizing that Rocky was dangerously near the edge, shouted, "ROCKY, LOOK OUT-"but it was too late as the two slaps caused Rocky to be knocked behind, and just before he fell to his demise, his quick actions led him to cling onto the edge of the cliff with his paws, but it seemed that Rocky was unable to get back up, as he attempted to get back up but failed.

Taiki ran towards Rocky, attempting to save him, but was soon blocked by Pancham who, although exhausted, blocked him, his paws stretching out to prevent him from running to both sides. Pancham gave Taiki a weak smile as he said, "Heh... As I've said... you can't beat us.... Now your friend here is on the verge of death..."

Taiki tried to find a way to get around Pancham, but with Salandit blocking the way as well, he could not get past them. His heartbeat pounded quickly, for he did not want to lose his only partner in this Pokémon world, and to lose a life that was doing for his cause. Seeing that Taiki was shaking vigorously, Pancham gave him a glare and said, "I can see you trembling, you know. Fine, since it's been a while that we had a good fight, I'll give you a choice. Either to give up the fragment or let your friend plunge into the depths." Taiki's eyes widened, his jaw opened, clearly in shock. If Rocky dies, it will be his fault, and he could not bear the feelings of pain and despair once more. Moreover, he was starting to know the Pokémon, and when they explored Shervile Hills, he could feel something as well. It's something that Rocky felt as well, but like him, he could not explain it, but it was something that felt good to him. But, if he loses the fragment... how would he go back? How would he recover his lost memories and know his true purpose that led him to this place?

Time began to slow as Salandit began to charge up an attack towards Rocky's paws. To lose a key or a friend... which was more worth it? Rocky, who still held on to the edge for his life, began to fear the charged move the Salandit was about to launch. He had half a mind to let go and accept his fate, but he wanted to know what Taiki chose. To choose the fragment or his life, which would he choose?

Taiki lowered his head. After he quickly processed his thoughts for his choices, he finally spoke.

"...let him go."

Pancham smirked, "Good choice." as Salandit stopped charging his move. Both Pancham and Salandit gave way for Taiki to lift his partner up, and they walked away as Taiki used every ounce of his strength to lift Rocky up. Finally, Rocky was able to put his right paw on the ground and pushed himself up, which resulted in Taiki pulling him securely on safe ground. Both laid down while they panted, exhausted from their battle and the pull. As they got up, they got to see the silhouettes of Pancham and Salandit walking away from them. Although Taiki lost the fragment that could bring him back home, he wasn't angry. He wasn't even upset, or even despair. What he could only feel was relief and gladness that his partner was now safe.  
  
"Taiki... I'm sorry." Rocky said to Taiki. "My Quick Attack resulted in this mess, and I wasn't careful."

"It's... it's alright, I guess." Taiki placed his paw onto Rocky's tired shoulders, trying to comfort him from the guilt. "At least you're safe, that's what matters."

"Not really. If I think through about what I'm going to do, maybe I could've used another move as well." Rocky sighed.

"We'll get them someday. That fragment too, as well."

Just as Taiki beckoned the crestfallen Rocky to go back to the town, they heard a loud noise.   
  
"Aaarrgh! Sorry, so sorry! Here, you take it! We don't need it anymore!" the deep voice cried.

"Please let us go! Have... have mercy!" another one shouted.

Not knowing what has happened, Taiki and Rocky ran towards the forest, heading down while locating where the source of the screams are.

As they got down from the steep stairs, they saw the two badly hurt figures of Pancham and Salandit were seen laying on the ground, with another Pokémon grabbing an item from Pancham's paws. "Get out of here! This place doesn't need evildoers like you two!" the Pokémon shouted, his tone loud and frightening. Frightened, Pancham and Salandit got up hastily and ran away towards the trees.

Taiki and Rocky got closer to the Pokémon that scared them away, not knowing if it's friend or foe. As they got closer, the Pokémon was actually a Piplup, with the Dimensional Fragment on its hands. The Piplup noticed the two, and waved its wing as a signal of being friendly. They waved their paws as well.

"Hello! I believe this is yours." the Piplup handed the fragment to Taiki. Taiki accepted the fragment and held it dearly. He finally got his first fragment in this universe.

"Thank you! This fragment is very important to me, and I'm glad you stood up for us!" Taiki exclaimed to him.

"Yeah, thanks a bunch. Those two were tough to beat. What's your name? I'm Rocky, and that Pikachu is Taiki." Rocky asked the Piplup.

"Wait... Rocky? Is that you?" the Piplup replied while checking on Rocky to figure what was seemed familiar to it. At last, he gasped with his eyes widened and his beak opened a bit.

"Rocky! Don't you remember me? I'm Joquid!" Joquid said to Rocky.

"Joquid! Oh my Arceus, you're here! I thought you're a goner, man!" Rocky hugged Joquid tightly as if they were old friends.

"Nah, I had to get out of the raid. I was badly hurt, so I had no choice but to escape." Joquid casually replied. "By the way, who's Taiki? Never seen him in town before."

"Oh, he's um... a human. From another universe." Rocky awkwardly replied, which made Taiki face palmed his own face in awkwardness.

"A human?! But-"

"Yeah, yeah, from the stories about a Pokémon and a human saving the world, yeah. But this time, he's from another universe, not summoned here magically."

"From a... dimension? What's that?"

"Joquid, I thought you knew what that is."

"Oh, really? Oh yeah, dimensions! Haha!" Joquid laughed in his own words. Taiki's left ear bent down to show the awkwardness in this situation, while Rocky just stared at him, not knowing how to respond.

"Anyways," Joquid said after he stopped laughing, "Now that those two punks are gone and your friend's fragment was returned, what are you going to do now? Do you have any place to live?" he asked.

"Heh, you see, ever since the town was ruined, I thought... we should rebuild it." Rocky said with determination.

"Wait, what?" Joquid said, startled about the statement.

"Um, you know that we aren't builders, right?" Taiki asked him in disbelief.

"Yeah, but... why can't we do simple stuff first? When more Pokémon returned from the unknown, then we'll start to upgrade it. Besides, it's our home; where the good memories are! There's still a chance for us to relive those memories!" Rocky exclaimed.

Joquid pondered for a bit, before asking, "Alright... but what should we do now?"

"I know," Rocky replied. "We'll start a team. A team for exploring, saving, and building."

"Like those guilds for exploring or rescuing? Something like that?" Taiki asked, unsure how this is going to work.

"Yeah! We'll start a small base, and once we got our headquarters set up, we'll try to reach out for other Pokémon in certain forests and bring them back! Who knows, we could potentially meet someone we knew and love!" Rocky replied, clenching his paws towards Taiki and Joquid as a sign that he's serious.

"Not a bad idea. But what about Taiki? He's not from the town." Joquid agreed.

"Oh yeah! Taiki, where would you go after this, now that you got your fragment back?" Rocky asked, before shaking his head and said, "Wait, how about you join the team! I'm sure that, with a human on our side, we could be much stronger and complete tasks effectively!"

"M...me...? I... don't know..."

"I'm sure you'll do great, even if you're new to this world or not," Joquid told him, agreeing to Rocky's idea.

"Well... it's true that I have nowhere to go..." Taiki sighed. "But alright, I'll join. I still have memories to recover."  
  
"ALRIGHT!" Rocky shouted, which caused both Joquid and Taiki to cover their ears. "Ow..." Taiki moaned. _If I had known this, maybe I shouldn't say that!_ Taiki thought while his ears are still ringing. _But I don't have many options. Besides, having friends is better than going alone, I guess. I've missed that feeling to be with friends._

"Alright, now that we have a team in motion, what should we name it?" Rocky asked. Although Rocky had more ideas on rebuilding the town, he is, unfortunately, not very good of making names.

"How about, Piplup Dream Team?" Joquid said.

"... really." Taiki facepalmed again.

"What? It's amazing!"

Taiki put down his paw from his face. He closed his eyes, with his eyebrows knitted, deep in thought. In honest terms, he wasn't good at naming things as well, but he wanted to try.

"How about... Lucky Star? As a sign of good luck, I guess." Taiki finally told Rocky about the idea.

"Yeah! 'Lucky Star' is a great team name! Alright, let's go! Back to town!" Rocky agreed. He and Taiki then began to walk towards the Mystery Dungeon, their hearts full of excitement to begin their first task on rebuilding the town.

Joquid, who still held on to his own team name, said, "But... what about 'Piplup's Dream Team'?!" Unfortunately, they didn't hear him. Defeated, the crestfallen Piplup began to walk slowly towards the dungeon as well. "Man... 'Lucky Star' is fine, I guess." He cried quietly as he began to catch up with the two.


	3. Lucky Star, Go!

As the trio went down the path to Estoria Town, they do so with a slow pace, for Rocky wanted to catch up with Joquid. They haven't met for a long time ever since the raid happened, thus they chatted among themselves for a long time, with some laughing and giggling along the way. Taiki intended to join the conversation, but he thought that he could rudely interrupt them. So, he just quietly walked along the rough, brown road while enjoying the scenery of Shervile Hills. He also tried to make some electric attacks along the way by concentrating on his cheeks that had produced a small static electric bolt, and although he could feel the energy of the electrical power, he was unable to unleash a Thundershock. _Maybe one of them could teach me how to make elemental moves..._ Taiki thought.

After a long walk, Taiki and Rocky began to feel hungry. Their stomachs grumbled as each step was taken, which made both of them feel uneasy. "Maybe we can get some food from the trees," Rocky suggested. "Alright, I'll go get them. You two wait here, alright?" Joquid told Taiki and Rocky, before heading into the forest to find anything to eat.

They waited for a while, and silence suddenly spread through the forest. Both of them were unable to come up with some interesting conversation topics, as they barely knew each other. A breeze suddenly came along, blowing their furs as they began to sit down and rested from their long journey. Although they were exhausted from today's events, they felt that something had helped them to regain their strength. Feeling a bit uncomfortable about the silence throughout them, Taiki finally became the ice-breaker when he spoke, "So... it's a wild adventure, huh."

"Phew." Rocky replied. "Although it didn't work out much, but I'm glad that we're safe with your fragment in the end."

Taiki smiled. He hasn't talked to anyone in months, so to have someone that he can talk to without worries is a bit strange, but it felt good. He looked up at the sky, noticing that it was turning orange; a sign that night will befall them. But he only cared about the beautiful orange sky that illuminated the world. Back in his world, he did have the same scenario, but there was something... bothering him that made him couldn't enjoy the beautiful scenery. What was it...? Alas, he still could not remember.

"Oh yeah, there's something I've been meaning to ask you." Rocky said with a curious look.

"Um, what is it?" Taiki replied, unsure what his questions were. It could be about his past life, but he figured that he couldn't answer him since he had lost his memories.

"What's so important about your fragment? Like, it is something you humans must have and cannot live without it?" Rocky asked as he tilted his head while pointing at the fragment Taiki was holding.

_Phew... that's something I can answer._ Taiki thought, and relaxed for a bit.

"Well, as I've said before, this is a part of a 4-part amulet. Once connected, it can open a special portal that I've made. That portal can be used to traverse through dimensions and universes. Actually, I think 'universes' are a better term for it. And only the wearer can go through different universes. If one enters without it, their body will go unconscious for a long time, according to my calculations. Only if the amulet is given, consciousness will come back to him."

Rocky just listened to Taiki's explanations with excitement and curiosity. Universes... dimensions... the probability to explore them... all of those made him feel adventurous, but the possibility to be unconscious forever terrified him.   
  
"Whoa... so you're like, a scientist! I mean, creating something to help people to go through universes just like that, it's something beyond my imagination! I really like to go through those someday..." Rocky exclaimed before began to daydream about the different kinds of people he would meet. Taiki's face was a little red, not used to people who complimented him.

But before he could imagine long enough, Joquid appeared behind him with a lot of Apples and Gummies on his hands. "Alright, here's the food!" he said. Rocky snapped out of his daydreaming before he said, "Thanks, Joquid!" and he was about to grab an apple when Taiki, realized something and pushed Rocky's paw to the side. Rocky gave him a puzzled look, but Taiki stated that it was getting late and they should get back to Estoria Town before the darkness took over. Rocky grumbled a bit, before accepting the fact that he is true and put the food items into his bag.

Soon, they arrived at the town, and so far, nothing had changed. Upon looking at the horrific sight of the destruction, Joquid was heartbroken. He lowered his head, not wanting to see the scene that gave him a sudden rush of despair. He didn't want to move, but after Rocky gave him a little nudge, he unwillingly continued to move on. The light from the sun began to drop as they walked through the streets, and darkness began to engulf the world once more, and it seemed like the twilight has sucked out Rocky and Joquid's hopes of the place. But not Taiki, as he did not live there when it happened, yet he could feel some despair that has grown onto them, judging by their moods.

Being the only one who's in a tolerable mood, he gave them a comforting smile, trying to let them see the hope that is still growing within the town. "We'll fix the town, no matter what. This is where you all stayed, and it will be forever." He comforted them while they walked. Joquid and Rocky, after seeing their friend assuaging them, they gave a smile back to him, knowing that he is right.

"Since we don't have a proper base yet, let's camp here for the night." Rocky told the group. It was a small 2-storey building next to the fountain, and it seemed that, besides the rubble itself, the rest is particularly clean and have no traces of damage. Ironically, it was also the place where Taiki found Rocky. "At the place where I found you and got my fragment stolen? Great place to relive those memories." Taiki teased. "Oh, shut up. At least it's sturdy." He replied as he gave Taiki a light punch. As they went into the building, they heard a familiar voice.

"ggrrroowwllll..."

Apparently it's the group's stomach that made the noise.

Everyone laughed at themselves, for they did not expect that they were that hungry. "Maybe we should eat up first." Joquid suggested. Rocky and Taiki agreed, thus they began to have their dinner of apples and Gummies. Taiki had never tasted such fulfilling apples; only two apples and a few Gummies had made his belly full. _Back in my world, it only served as a quick bite to continue his progress... this universe is certainly interesting! _He thought as he munched on his last bite.

After their dinner, they began to clean up the rubble. With Rocky's Force Palm, he broke the larger and heavier parts of the rubble into smaller pieces, which helped Taiki and Joquid to carry them towards outside easily. Once the rubble inside the building was cleared, Joquid used Bubble Beam to flush out the rest of the debris towards outside. Taiki was impressed by the moves of Rocky and Joquid, for he did not know any elemental moves at all. He considered to ask one of them for advice on how to unleash such moves, so it could be an advantage in a battle or something else.

After a few minutes of cleaning, the room was finally clean and comfortable enough for the three Pokémon to rest. In the lower part of the building, it was a living room which contained furniture that was slightly damaged but useable nonetheless. Taiki asked them to decide who will take the sofa, but they rejected as they are used to sleep in a comfy nest. So, Taiki waited for them to get some sticks and hay to make their own sleeping quarters. Once everyone was ready to sleep, they immediately popped their heads down and rested. Although Joquid was sleeping soundly, Taiki and Rocky aren't. Rocky was excited for tomorrow's plans; which is to create a team that no Pokémon has ever done before, and restore a part of the town. Taiki on the other paw, was wondering if he should wait for a bit to ask them about the usage of moves, but he felt that it was rude to wake them up.

Finally, he asked Rocky, whom he assumed that he wasn't sleeping yet, "Rocky... are you awake? I have a question."

Rocky gave a yawn at Taiki's response and replied, "Sure... what's up?"

"You and Joquid... both of you know how to use those amazing moves... but I don't know how to use mine, yet."

"Oh, right... I guess it's still hard for you to use them, since you're a human and all."

Taiki turned his head to the side to face Rocky. "I was wondering... if you could help me with that."

"Teach you? But I don't know Thundershock!"

"Oh, so that's what's it called... well at least, can you demonstrate how you use moves like the palm thing?"

"Force Palm?"

"Whatever it was called."

"Sure, pal. I'm not a good explainer, but it's better than no one else. Besides, that combo doesn't always work, so it's good to learn."

"Ha. Just make the enemy Pokémon weak and they'll be finished, but I suppose you're right. Besides, I really want to know how producing electric is like."  
"Nice. Well, get some rest, Taiki. You'll need the energy."

"You too."

And they both drifted into a deep sleep, excited about the events of tomorrow.

...

...

The next day, Rocky and Taiki went outside and began to train Taiki on the usage of moves. It was a warm day, and Taiki was excited because he is finally going to learn his electrical powers once and for all. Somehow, anyway.

Rocky started the lesson by saying, "Alright, so the way I would do it is focus where the move is going to be launched, in my case, it would be my paws. For you though, it's through your red cheeks. Electric flows and comes out from there. Concentrate your energy to those."

Taiki closed his eyes, and began to focus on the energy to his cheeks. Once again, he could feel the electricity flowing through him; it's only about how to release it. He kept holding it, until his face was a bit red from all of that concentration.

"Okay, woah. Hold on," Rocky stopped Taiki from possibly fainting from exhaustion. "Don't let the electric remain there. Release it towards a destination. Here's how's it done."

Rocky held out his right paw and concentrated his energy into it. Suddenly, a bright, spherical blue aura appeared inside his paw fiercely, before it diminished into nothing.

"Your turn. Try to release it onto me." Rocky continued.

"Wait, really? I don't want to hurt you..."

"It's fine. I've been worse."

"If you say so."

Taiki began to close his eyes and focus again. As the energy builds, he remembered Rocky's advice to release it. Problem is, was it just stop focusing or... what? He had no clue, but he thought that he could try to somehow release it. He imagined the electric from his cheeks to come out, and not fatally injure Rocky. Suddenly, he felt a sudden loss of energy, and he could feel the stinging from his cheeks. The sensation continued until his focused energy was no more. The stinging stopped, and he wondered what had happened. When he opened his eyes...

Rocky wasn't hurt. _Did I... did I fail? But I could've sworn that I had felt something..._ Taiki wondered, but something else was in front of Rocky that made him realize why he wasn't hurt. Rocky held out his paws and there seemed to be some sort of shield, which explained why he wasn't hurt.

"What... is that?" Taiki asked.

"Oh, this?" Rocky replied, before he relaxed his paws which made the shield disappear from view. "This is Protect, which protects me from certain moves." "That explains you being unscathed. You could've told me, I was worried a bit then." Taiki retorted, before folding his paws as a sign of being annoyed.

But, that expression soon disappeared when Rocky said, "By the way, Taiki. You successfully launched Thundershock. Not really powerful, but hey, it worked."

_Finally! So this is what it feels like to unleash such a devastating move! This is really cool, oh my god...!_ Taiki was overjoyed, shouting "I can use electric moves!" over and over again, his tail wagging intensely. He jumped for joy before he stepped on his own tail and fell down with a thump. Rocky laughed as hard as he could. As he got up and saw Rocky laughing on the ground, Taiki's face became from excitement to embarrassment instantly.

After he stopped laughing, he got up. "Alright, ha... Well, now that's done, time to create our team," Rocky said. "Taiki... haha... sorry, um... please help me wake Joquid up, he's still sleeping when we trained. I'll go set up for our next journey." Feeling a bit bothered by him, he made a little electric attack that made him jolt. "Ow! Ok, ok, I'm sorry. I'll go get stuff done!"

Once Joquid was up and ready, they all get together near the fountain. Rocky explained to the group, "So, we're going to Pelipper HQ and register our name there. Once that's done, we're gonna start by finding any requests that are from Protia Forest or anywhere that's near Estoria Town, because while exploring or rescuing, there's always some potential that we could find lost villagers."

"Oh, by the way, Taiki." Rocky looked at Taiki, before handing him a small handbag. It was old and dusty, but no signs of damage or holes, which makes it a durable one. "We're going to need all the items we can if we explore a Mystery Dungeon, and some extra help is good." Taiki accepted the handbag, and wrapped it around his waist. _Neat. I suppose the fragment can be in here for safety. _Taiki thought, while he placed the Dimensional Fragment into the bag safely.

"If you guys are ready, then we'll be off!" Rocky said as he moved towards the path of the headquarters. Taiki and Joquid too set off with him as well as they chatted about the training Taiki had done just now.

It took them about an hour to reach the headquarters. When they arrive, the headquarters was into view. It was shaped like a Pelipper with its bill open, and there seemed to be a long, sturdy pole that prevents it from closing. Some white-feathered Pokémon that looked like the building was seen flying into the bill which Taiki guessed them to be called Pelippers. They went into the building, and they were immediately greeted by a Pelipper that's wearing a green scarf. "Welcome to Pelipper HQ! What can we do for you?" she asked. "We're here to create a new team," Rocky replied while giving her a grin.

"Create a new team, you say? Why, have a seat!" the Pelipper pointed out the sofa that was beside them. The three Pokémon sat down as the Pelipper sat down in front of the sofa, getting herself comfortable. "So, what kind of team are you planning to create?"

"We would like to make a team based on exploration, rescuing, and building as well." Rocky declared, trying his best to sound a bit professional.

"Wait a minute... exploration, rescuing, and even building? We've never seen a team like this before..." the Pelipper said, her eyes widened. It was true, after all. In this universe, there's exploration teams, rescuing teams, and even building teams who had their own role to play. These teams help in different types of aspects, and have their own strengths and weaknesses. Combining every role into a team, however... it was the first time the Pelipper had heard of such an idea. "Are you confident that you and your teammates can handle so many roles at once? Because I'm actually quite worried if the team overworks too much." She stuttered, not knowing what the consequences may befall onto them if they accept.

"Yes. We are confident about this. It's because we have a purpose, which is to repopulate a town, and fix it so Pokémon can enjoy living there." Rocky insisted, his paw clenched to show how determined he was about the idea.

"Are you referring to Estoria Town?" She proclaimed. "Oh wow, I'm so sorry. I suppose you're a long-time resident there, given that you are so strong-willed about this."

"Not only him. I am a resident of Estoria Town as well, and I would like to see it replenished." Joquid added.

"And I'm here to help them in whatever they may need." Taiki said, as he clenched his fist and placed it near his chest.

"This is... such a surprise! Alright, your team will be created, but what will the team name be?" she asked while she took out a paper and pencil to note down the details.

"Lucky Star, please." Taiki replied.

"Lucky...Star... alright! It will be registered soon, but here are some items that will be helpful for you three as a team!" she went into a room before carrying a small chest into the main room. It was shiny, with yellow lines for the outline, and a small Pokéball on top of the chest lid. She handed the chest to Taiki, and then he opened it gently. Inside, there are a lot of badges with the logo of a Pokéball with small wings, some scarfs, and a handbag that was larger than Taiki's.

"The badges are called Team Badges. Use them to let yourselves identify as a Pokémon in a team. It can also be used to transport lost Pokémon or even yourselves out of a Mystery Dungeon." She explained before continuing. "These scarfs do more than make one feel comfortable. Scarfs like these tend to have different types of abilities that can be an advantage during a battle. And finally, the handbag. Self-explanatory, isn't it? You use it to carry items."

Taiki, Rocky, and Joquid grabbed a badge each while Rocky and Joquid got their own favourite scarfs. Then, they attached the glowing badge onto their scarfs which makes other Pokémon to know that they're in a team. It made Rocky felt a bit proud, now that he's officially in a team.

"Alright, um... what should I call you... I mean since I can't really call you explorers, or rescuers, or even builders..."

"Adventurers? That seemed like the perfect word." Joquid suggested.

"Nah, adventurers are for people who adventure."

"Pelipper, I think there's no need to call us whatever it was. We're Pokémon, just like you." Rocky implied.

"Ah, right. Alright, Pokémon! Get to work!" she announced, her wings held up horizontally, implying them to start their work.

Taiki and the group left the headquarters, feeling excited about their first mission. When they left, Taiki noticed a board full of papers with pictures on it, and he asked Rocky about it. "Oh, good eye, Taiki. That's the Job Board, where Pokémon look for requests that need help. Let's see if any of them are near Protia Forest." They walked to the board and began to search for requests that have the name on them. Paper after paper, they flipped and searched, but in the end, they couldn't find anything and sat down, a bit tired from the search.   
"This isn't helping us to go anywhere..." Joquid said in a defeated tone, his head looking at the ground.

"Come on, Joquid. We can't give up at our first try!" Taiki encouraged, trying his best to not let the whole team down.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of rustling leaves, and they turned to see a bush at their right. Upon being looked at, it made movement again, before it leapt from the bush towards the team. As it landed, Taiki had never seen this type of Pokémon before, as usual. It was blue, his face was white, and there seems to be a shell on its belly.

"Joquid? Is that really you?" the blue Pokémon asked.

"Wait a minute... that Oshawott... I heard that voice before!" Joquid exclaimed as he got up.

"Moray! Is that you?" Rocky asked, his eyes widened upon seeing the Pokémon.

"Rocky as well! I mean... I guess I was glad to see you..." Moray replied, his face a bit odd for Taiki to know.

"Oh come on, dude. Are you still on about that after all these months?" Rocky scoffed, a bit disappointed on Moray's actions.

"A bit, yeah. But ignore that! There are other villagers in Phosis Forest! And they're surrounded by powerful Pokémon, so strong even I got badly hurt by them!"

"Wait, seriously? I mean, usually, you're the joker around the town, and known to be one of the worst..." Joquid questioned him, not completely trusting Moray.

"I'm being serious! I wouldn't even joke about lives in danger!"

"Alright, we're coming!" Taiki insisted.

"Wait, who are you though? I've never seen a Pika-"

"Don't worry about him! He's our friend! Now let's get a move on!" Rocky commanded.

The team followed Moray who knew the way to Phosis Forest while they motivated up Taiki, for he just knew how to use Thundershock. Taiki actually wasn't even worried about it until they brought the subject up, and now he's in a bit of panic. "It's alright, Taiki! We'll help you if you miss, as long as you tried!" Joquid cheered him up as they began to enter the forest. "I dunno, I could've hit you guys..." He sheepishly replied. "Look, I know you won't miss. Because you're the human here! You could possibly be stronger than your last Thundershock, I know it!" Rocky whispered, not wanting Moray to hear the conversation. _So many high hopes are for me... Yeah, I gotta try my best. _Taiki thought while they went up the first floor with ease.

The floors of Phosis Forests are long and complicated, and they often met strong Grass-type Pokémon. Being Water-Types, Joquid and Moray could not deal some decent damage onto the enemy Pokémon, so most of the time, it was Rocky and Taiki who did the most fighting. And sure enough, Taiki's Thundershock was able to hit his target, although still not as powerful as the one he did from the training. Nonetheless, this helped to boost his performance and courage to fight more. Sometimes, he used his old combo excluding Tackle to weaken the enemies, so that Joquid and Moray wouldn't be left out of the action and get some hits as well.

Along the way, Taiki and Rocky were able to find some good loot, especially Oran Berries, which were commonplace around here. There are even orbs that vary in different colours, but they decided to not use it, fearing that it could harm them, although there's a possibility that it could help them as well. They put the collected stuff into their handbags and closed the lid before moving on.

Although it seemed like it could take forever to traverse through the forest, eventually they finally got to the last floor. As they reached the top of the floor, they could see a lot of Grass-type Pokémon surrounding some lying Pokémon, possibly fainted due to their attacks. "Hey! Leave them alone!" Rocky exclaimed as he rushed towards them.

"Who goes there?" A large, green Pokémon exclaimed. All of the Grass-type Pokémon looked at the team, which made Rocky a bit frightened about the scene. He expected a few numbers, but he didn't expect a lot of Pokémon out of nowhere. He knew that if this is going to be a battle, they're not going to win easily.

"Hey! Isn't that the intruder? Why are you two siding with him?" a small Pokémon said, pointing at Moray. The entire Grass-type Pokémon realized that Moray was with them, and they got angry as they growled softly.

"Hey... what did you do to them?" Taiki whispered, unsure what they meant by Moray being the intruder.

"Nothing, we were trying to get out of this forest when suddenly we accidentally stepped on their territory. And my Arceus, they were tough!" Moray whispered back, his face full of fear.

Now realized what has happened, he moved towards the Grass-type Pokémon while pushing back Rocky who was a bit paralyzed from the sheer amount of enemy Pokémon. "What are you doing? It's way too dangerous!" Rocky muttered, not wanting Taiki to be in trouble. "I'll try to talk. If they refused to negotiate, I'll unleash a Thundershock." Taiki turned and replied, before turning back to face them.

"But... you still haven't completely mastered it!"  
"I suppose, but I won't let you have the first hit."

Before Rocky could argue back, Taiki shouted to the group of Pokémon. "Alright, I know for a fact that my friend, Moray here with them," He pointed at the group of unconscious Pokémon before continuing, "And I am sure that they meant no harm. They're trying to get out of this forest. So, let's not fight and let us-"

"Enough! That feeble excuse has made many hostile Pokémon to escape or worse even, let them surprise attack us! How would we know that you and your lackeys here are not here to harm us? For all we know, you'll just attack us by surprise when we've let our guard down!" One of the Pokémon yelled, which Taiki identified as a Serperior. This somehow offended Taiki, possibly because even when he tried negotiating with them, they refused his offer to let them walk away.

"Now, enough talk! Alright, gang, CHARGE!" the Serperior commanded the other Grass-type Pokémon to fight. All of them launched their own Grass-type attacks towards Taiki, and before he could act, a figure pushed him from behind, and he fell towards the ground. He turned around just in time to see Rocky taking every single hit from the Grass-type attacks. The extreme power from the moves blasted Rocky behind, and he crashed under a tree. His head went down. Dead or alive, Taiki didn't know. "ROCKY!!" Joquid, Moray and Taiki shouted to him, but it was no use. He wasn't responding. Joquid and Moray rushed towards Rocky's side, trying to wake him up with items from his bag.

The sudden act of heroism that Rocky did to him... Taiki was willing to take the attack for Rocky, Joquid and Moray, but Rocky just pushed him away and let him take it. A sudden energy filled him, determined to take down the Pokémon that were responsible to hurt his friend. He got down on all fours and began to focus on a Thundershock. Knowing what Taiki is about to do, the Grass-type Pokémon began to launch their moves as well to counter Taiki's attack.

Taiki felt the limit of his power, but he wasn't releasing it. He wanted the move to be extremely powerful enough to knock out the group that had injured his ally. He charged it so much that he felt like fainting before he could even release it, but he wasn't letting it go. Only when the Grass-type moves were inches from him, he finally let out Thundershock.

The sudden light from Taiki's Thundershock was so bright, that everyone was temporarily blinded, and they covered their eyes in response to the light. Powerful electric volts were unleashed through Taiki, and the attack destroyed the Grass-type moves and went straight to the Pokémon. Every single Grass-type Pokémon that was on its path got hit by the powerful electric move, electrocuting them as well. The move was so powerful that it created a massive explosion onto the Pokémon, and everyone was covered in dark soot.

Taiki, now depleted with energy, laid there unmoving. It was no doubt, the most powerful move he had ever launched, and it required his total energy to create such a move. Still, he managed to open his eyes and look upon his foes. The Grass-type Pokémon were completely wounded by his attack, and they laid there, unmoving as well. A bit of electricity surrounded them, making them unable to move without feeling pain. The Serperior laid there, although managed to be conscious during the attack, was shocked about the sudden power the Pikachu had made. Although Electric Types are not that effective against Grass Types, but it managed to blast through their moves and even knock out the entire group.

The Serperior coughed, before looking at Taiki and said before coughing a bit, "I've... never seen such powerful force before... never in my life from a Snivy until now. Is it because... the Riolu we've hit? You're angry about it, aren't you...?"

"It's not only... that." Taiki responded.

"You... hate us from the beginning? Did my group caused you trouble... before?"

"It's because you didn't listen to me... we truly didn't intend to fight. We're rescuing them... because they're from a town that has been raided, and they had nowhere to go. We just... wanted to go in peace. That's one of the reasons why I was upset about your actions."

Shocked, she winced a bit, before realizing that he was right. They're the ones who started the fight, not them. And besides, she did heard about a town being raided by a group of nefarious Pokémon... _It could be true. What was I thinking? _She pondered, before apologized to Taiki. "Sorry. It's just that we're so on guard these days that we put our safety over rational thoughts. Please, forgive us."

"I can see...why. It's ok... just help him... I don't know if he's alive or not from the combined moves you guys did." Taiki weakly replied before collapsing, exhausted from the move he did. He could hear Moray shouting to him and Joquid shaking him, but before he could reply, the world went dark and he fell unconscious.

...

...

Suddenly, he could feel a cold liquid splashing against his face. Jolted by the sudden cold feeling, Taiki woke up and opened his eyes and immediately got up, not knowing what had happened.

Apparently, it was Joquid who let out a stream of water. "Ah, you're awake! Man, that move exhausted you so much, huh?" he asked before wiping some excess water from his beak.

_The water came... from his beak? Ugh... that's kinda gross... C'mon, Taiki... they're a Pokémon... this is normal... this is normal...._ Taiki thought before he nodded to Joquid's question. He was still weak, but he figured that he could make it. Rocky was at his side as well, still tending to his wounds from the Grass-type moves.

"Rocky, are you OK?" he turned to Rocky and asked.

Rocky, who realized the wet Taiki who was now conscious, replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. I've told ya, I've been worse. You?"

"Exhausted."

"Moray explained the whole situation. I did tell you to not exceed your limit, but I guess its fine, for now. From what he said, it's so powerful, that it knocked out every Grass-type Pokémon! Man, that's amazing!"

"Oh yeah, why didn't you use Protect? You were capable of using that move."

"Oops. Forgotten about the move. Just realized that, haha."  
"And here we are, remembering to use it during training to block my weak Thundershock but unable to when facing strong Grass-type moves." Taiki teased.

"Shut up." Rocky laughed.

After everyone got up, they went towards the wounded Grass-type Pokémon who are still recovering from Taiki's Thundershock. Some flinched when they saw Taiki, but Taiki apologized to them which lightened their fear of him. At last, they walked towards the Serperior and requested to let go of the townsfolk. She agreed, before saying sorry one last time towards the team. The Pokémon that were behind her went towards the team, their faces filled with joy. As everyone was about to leave Phosis Forest, she asked Taiki to wait for a moment. When Taiki asked why, she said something to him.

"Pikachu... you may seem weak, but something about you had helped you to unleash that devastating Thundershock. In fact, I don't know if you are even a Pokémon... I think. But, I know that you'll do great, for the greater good. Take care of your friend. Every journey is incomplete without a partner by your side."

Taiki, now understood why she asked him to stay behind, nodded in response, before waving as a sign of goodbye. He got on all fours and sprinted to the exit of Phosis Forest to catch up with the team.

As everyone walked towards Estoria Town, they immediately chatted with Rocky, Joquid and Moray to catch up with them. Taiki left them to be. After all, they have finally been united again after months of separation, and Taiki didn't want to interrupt them. But, one of the Pokémon invited Taiki to join in, and although he was a bit shy about it but he reluctantly accepted the offer. Everyone had a great time until they reached the town. They stopped in their tracks to witness the destruction of the town. Taiki, who was behind them, got in front of them to witness what had stopped them, before he was greeted with more shock.

The main roads were filled with debris and rubble. Not one spot was left without any sign of destruction. Not wasting time, they rushed to see what was going on. "What happened? I've never seen the rubble completely covered the roads before!" Taiki stammered while he panted in each step he took.

"I've no idea as well! But I know for a fact that Pancham and his gang had done it again!" Rocky stated.

And Rocky was right. Upon reaching the base with great difficulty, they found a small note attached near the fountain. When Taiki picked it up, he read it for everyone to hear.

"Dear Pikachu and Riolu: I've heard that you two had made a team! Even with the Piplup, it seems! Here's a gift as thanks, and don't repay us, it's free of charge! Happy cleaning. Signed, Pancham"

Everyone was disappointed on their actions. "What were they thinking?!" A Pokémon shouted. "Now how are we supposed to move? Mobility is limited here!" another exclaimed.

"Guys! Don't worry! We're now a team, which means this mess... will be cleaned by us!" Rocky told the group. Joquid nodded in agreement, but Taiki, who was still tired, moaned about the statement. _Even more work... why did I agree to join him again... _But he put his expression and attitude aside as the Pokémon that they had to save wanted to be a part of the cleaning process, which made Taiki a bit happy, for there will be less work to be done and the process will be a bit quicker to be finished.

Everyone was in high spirits when they cleaned up the mess Pancham and his group made. Sure, they were upset about what they did, but all they focused now was to get the town cleared of debris. Soon, with the combined efforts of everyone, the town's first part of the road was now cleared. Everyone hollered and cheered for their efforts and the cleared road. Taiki, who was now extremely exhausted from the cleaning, also felt the urge to cheer about it as well, and that's what he did. _The spirits of every Pokémon was in a great mood... Heh, even I joined in the fun. I suppose, since I'm a Pokémon as well, these positive feelings are stronger when we are all involved, working together as one. It's really pleasant. _Taiki smiled on the thought.

To celebrate the reunion of some of the townsfolk being reunited again, and the clearing of the road, they hosted a big party outside the team's headquarters. The Pokémon brought what they had and feasted while chatting among themselves as they felt happy about the events of today. But, being extremely tired to the bone, Taiki declined the offer to join in. He just went inside the base and laid on the sofa to sleep. Still thinking about the events that happened just now, he slept with a smile on his face. But, before he went into a deep sleep, he heard the door opened and saw a figure. It was Rocky.

"Hey," Taiki said in a tired tone.

"Look, I just want to say... thank you. For everything." Rocky replied.

"I did nothing. It's all on you, dude. Without your efforts and determination to rebuild this place, I don't think anyone would've done the same thing you would do. You cared for everyone you loved. Isn't that the reason why you pushed me from the attacks?"

"I mean, yeah. But, seeing you willing to take the hit for us... I couldn't help to just let you take it."

"Whatever the reason may be, I'm a small part. You're doing a big role."

"I guess... but whatever I would do, I would still be terrified. But, with you and Joquid around, I'm much more confident. You two would always help me through dark times. Whatever I'm terrified at, you two helped me to face those. So... thank you."

"What about Joquid? Thank him as well, not just me."

"I already told him. But you were the one who influenced me the most. To be brave. To never give up. So, thanks again, for being a part of my journey."

"No problem."

"Oh yeah, you should sleep early. I can tell you're exhausted from the move you had made."  
"Yeah. You too. You should tuck in early to recover your wounds."

"I will. Goodnight, Taiki."

"Goodnight, Rocky. Enjoy the party for me."

Rocky nodded before he closed the doors, and Taiki soon fell into a deep sleep with a smile on his face.


	4. Old Friends

The next day, the sun was as bright as everyone's spirits, the weather was in a perfect condition, and the cool breeze blew everyone's furs as they began to work on Estoria Town after they were being rescued by Lucky Star. Although everyone was working hard to rebuild the town, Taiki was still asleep. He was exhausted after using an extremely powerful Thundershock against the Grass-type Pokémon, at the cost of using up every single ounce of his energy. Even though he slept pretty much earlier than the others, he was the last of them to be still sleeping.

Taiki's face was a bit darkened though, not because he was really tired, but it's because he was in a little nightmare. He tossed and turned, his eyes squinted like he was staring onto the sun. Joquid went into the base, and he saw Taiki still sleeping while turning at every side. Feeling a bit mischievous, he went beside Taiki, and unleashed a weak water attack towards Taiki's face. Being blasted by the cold water, he woke up instantly and got up on his feet, still being frightened by the nightmare.

"Argh! Wha- What was that? Where did all those shadowy figures go...?" He muttered between breaths.

Seeing the frightened and confused state of the Pikachu, he fell down to the ground, bursting with laughter. As Taiki calmed down, he felt the water from his face and immediately looked at the laughing Joquid. "Man... you know, that's pretty rude to forcefully wake someone up like that, but thanks... those things freaked me out." Joquid stopped laughing and got up to its hind paws. "Couldn't control myself. Sorry, heh." Joquid snickered. "Man, do humans sleep that long? You've slept for so long, I thought you..."

"Probably because I'm that tired. Anyways, what made you wake me up? A rescue mission, or something else?"

"A part of it is because I'm feeling a bit mischievous, the other is because Rocky wanted us to rebuild some temporary shelters."

Taiki cocked his head. "Temporary shelters?"

Joquid sighed. "Yeah. Shouldn't it be obvious that we need more room for the town members to stay? Last night, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, slept on the first room. Oh my Arceus, it was hard to move and everyone stank, given that they haven't showered since they were lost! It's unbearable, I tell ya! So, Rocky here decided to make temporary shelters for them to stay."

"Ah, I see," Taiki replied while nodding his head. "That could've explained the nightmares."

"Now that the situation has been explained, come on! Let's get building!"

Joquid walked towards the door and opened it for Taiki. Still a bit weary from his nightmare, he got off the couch and went outside with Joquid beside him.

It was a busy day, as the Pokémon are here and there, doing their tasks to restore a part of Estoria Town. Yesterday, Pancham and his group destroyed a lot of buildings to make debris for the roads, so the townsfolk there had to rebuild new ones. Some Pokémon were seen carrying debris to be made into constructing material, while the rest of them continued to make the roads clean with brooms made out of a sturdy stick and a lot of strings.

As Taiki and Joquid went around to find something to help with, they found Moray giving out certain jobs to Pokémon who had finished their previous tasks. They went up to him, and the Oshawott noticed their arrival. "Hey, you two. Taiki, you sure are a sleepyhead here... but I couldn't blame you for that."

Taiki gave an awkward smile and chuckled for a bit. "Sorry. I don't usually sleep that long, but I was exhausted. So, you're doing great as a commander, by the way."

"Thanks. I guess I got some fine leadership skills."

"Don't get too carried away." Joquid nudged Moray at his arms, not wanting him to be some sort of bossy Pokémon in the town. "Anyways, what can we do at the moment? Seems like everyone got their roles sorted out."

Moray thought about it for a while, before he said "Aha!" quietly to himself and told the two, "Since now we have a threat that knew about our current status, we should get some security up and going. Like, some forces that keep them at bay."

Taiki wasn't confident about the idea; he remembered seeing it beforehand and it wasn't pretty. He thought, _Ugh, where did those memories come from? Think...think... _His expression went into serious mode as he continued to try and remember his past, but besides the fact that he came here for an unknown reason and having parts of his memories revived through random conversations and events, he could not recall anything more than those.

"I dunno, man... would they accept this logical idea- wait, Taiki, are you alright, dude?" Joquid saw Taiki getting serious about something, and it concerned him for some reason. He didn't respond, for he was concentrating on reviving his past memories. Joquid shook Taiki a bit while Moray asked Taiki, "Hey, are you alright? You seem a bit too serious..." Joquid began to shook faster and more violent before Moray decided to spray some water from his mouth towards Taiki. "Huh?" was all Taiki could say before the water splashed him.

"Glurgh- ugh!" Taiki responded before Moray stopped spraying the water and caught his breath for a bit before wiping his mouth. After Taiki recovered from the water splash, Joquid looked at Taiki and asked, "Taiki, are you alright? You were zoned out for a long time..."

"Ugh... yeah. I was focused on my past, that's all." Taiki responded, giving off a nervous smile.

"Oh, did the idea gave you bad memories? Sorry about that, didn't mean to." Moray said, his expression a bit worried for he didn't mean to remind him of bad memories.

"No, no. Anyways..." Taiki steered the current conversation to the idea. "Although this might anger the townsfolk about it, but I agree. Protection is what we need to prevent them from trashing our town again. We certainly don't want to repeat what we've done yesterday."   
"That does sound reasonable. But Taiki, are you sure you're okay?" Joquid was still concerned about Taiki, however, Taiki nodded to him, which gave him a bit of relief.

"If you say so," Moray responded to Taiki's actions. "Back to the idea, we should construct some fence posts around this part of the town and some guard posts at each corner. I don't know much about the group, so it's hard to tell what Pokémon types we can use to counter them."

"Even if we have the right Pokémon for the job, we need to select the ones that are willing to protect. Those who aren't suitable and are not interested will not be effective to guard the town." Joquid suggested while Taiki agreed with him.

"Good idea. I'll go and gather the townsfolk around here to select the ones who are willing to do it. You two, grab the book from that table over there," Moray pointed at the table with the book on it. "And find the instructions for making a strong fence peg. Joquid, you can use Peck, right?"

Joquid groaned, his head bent low, for he knew where this was going. "I'm so not looking forward to the splinters. But I guess I'll just have to bear it." He sighed. "What about me?" Taiki asked.

"You should use Iron Tail to knock the fences deep into the ground," Moray replied.

"But, I don't know Iron Tail."

"Really? At this point, you should've."

Taiki gave a long look at Moray before he stated that he wasn't really sure how to do it.

"Um, I guess your paws would do it, at the cost of being a bit painful. Taiki, if you have time, you should try Iron Tail; it's pretty powerful to counter some moves." Moray turned back, ready to leave the two to do their tasks, before he saw Rocky running towards them. "Hey! What's up?" he shouted towards him.

After Rocky got to the team, he told everyone, "Good news! Pelipper agreed to build a Request Board for us!" "Oh wow! That's great, now we have more locations to find the others!" Joquid said in glee. On the other hand, Taiki was just confused. He had never heard a Request Board and it's functionality before, let alone seen one. Rocky noticed the curious expression of Taiki, and he told him as if he had read his mind.

"A Request Board is a board where Pokémon from other Mystery Dungeons can send help to. We can collect the notes from them, and based on the forest and level, we can find them and use the badges to transport them back to town. This is what most Pokémon would say, a rescue mission. Once the cries of frightened Pokémon are heard by a Pokémon named Rowlett, they will gather information, write a note, and burrow underground to update the board. That way, we can know who needs rescuing and where to find them."

"Ah, that's a really useful system, it seems." Taiki replied, nodding in response.

"So, what are you guys discussing?" Rocky asked Moray who he knew that he was kind of the leader here while he was away to Pelipper HQ. "Well, I had the idea to make security gates and posts, so I asked Joquid and Taiki to make them, while I gathered the townsfolk to select who's eligible enough to be a guard. For now, at least."

"And to be fair, I had some doubts about it, especially when it involves MY beak. I had to use Peck for breaking the wood, and I hate it." Joquid exclaimed.

"As do I, but it's actually a good idea. We still don't know Pancham's group power yet, and a sudden attack is disastrous to the townsfolk's hopes. You know, Moray, for a jokester, you do have some great ideas. You had me surprised."

"Wait, you thought I was a happy-go-lucky Pokémon this all time, and did nothing but tell jokes before this? Hey, for your information, I also helped a bit to this town!"

"And what's that?"

"Um... boosting the townsfolk's morale in their jobs!"

"That is... not considered helping, although your jokes did lighten our moods for a bit."

"Oh come on! It was a good contribution!"

Taiki and Joquid backed away as Rocky and Moray had a heated argument, although Joquid knew that it wasn't the topic that would result in injury. Taiki was confused by what he saw. "What... did I just witness?" Taiki asked Joquid, who was watching the scene like it was no big deal. Joquid shrugged. "These two were... rivals. Always competing against one another, striving to be the best in terms of leadership. And I'm always the middle Pokémon here. Sometimes it's entertaining to watch as those two annoy each other, for their topics are um... a bit childish and ridiculous."

"Even in this world, there's bound to be arguments, huh," Taiki replied, not expecting this to even happen in this universe. "In every place where there's Pokémon with the ability to think, there's bound to be disagreements. But what matters most is when both sides strengthened their relationship, and knew each other very well. And THAT isn't a good example." Joquid chuckled.

Taiki rolled his eyes, before he chuckled as well. "Alright, time to do our tasks as team members." And that's when Joquid went from an amused face to a face full of dread. "Please don't remind. I'm dreading about the number of splinters that may prick on my face." He groaned for a long time, and was reluctant to go, and Taiki had to push him towards the woodpile with a smirk on his face.

It was beginning to be in the afternoon when Taiki slammed his two fists onto the final fence peg. His paws were now red from slamming them down to the ground, and he was exhausted again, but not as much as before. Joquid was equally as tired as Taiki, but unlike him, he had to deal with some splinters that pricked his face, and each time he took one off, he yelped in pain. "That's the last time I'm doing this under his command," panted Joquid. "If the wood needs some chopping or some sort, we should find a Timburr that was still lost somewhere around here." Ignoring what kind of Pokémon Timburr was, Taiki sat down onto the grass, trying to regain his energy. "Alright, now those had been dealt with... we should get some rest. I've heard Moray telling another Pokémon to put small planks to connect the fence pegs." stated Taiki, before turning to see Joquid's face now red from the splinters. "And do you need an Oran Berry to heal your face? That seems awfully painful." Joquid covered his face to withstand the pain, and mumbled a "Yes" which prompted Taiki to grab an Oran Berry from his bag and give it to him. He ate the Oran Berry, and soon his wounds disappeared. "Much better... wait." He noticed something on the skies. "What's that? It's... large."

Taiki looked up as well, and his eyes followed to where Joquid pointed his wing at. He too, noticed a big, white Pokémon that was flying above the sky. He had no idea what Pokémon it was, but when it got a bit lower, Taiki noticed the large bill, and he immediately said, "It's Pelipper. She's gonna implement the Request Board, let's check it out." Taiki got on all fours and ran towards where Pelipper landed, with Joquid behind him.

When they got to the fountain where Pelipper had landed, they found a big package besides her. Rocky and Moray were in front of Pelipper, and they seemed to thank her before she flew away. When they arrived, Taiki asked about the package. Moray answered, "It contains materials for the board. Let's construct it, shall we?" He motioned Taiki and Joquid to help him and Rocky to build it. The both of them, still tired after surrounding a part of the town with fence pegs, lowered their heads in exhaustion and defeat. _Why, oh why did we brought this to ourselves...?_ Taiki whispered to Joquid with a sigh. _No use to complain about it, let's just get the work done..._ Joquid whispered back. Although they were unwilling about doing even more tasks, they obediently constructed the Request Board with Rocky and Moray with grim expressions.

After a few minutes, the Request Board was finally done. The team backed off the board, admiring the wonderful creation they had made. Although the design was simple, it still served a great purpose for them. "Alright, I'm definitely wiped out." panted Joquid, while he immediately sat down onto the soft grass. "Same as I. But hey, now we can go give the lost Pokémon some help," said Taiki. "But, where is... um... Rowlett, right?" And as if on cue, he noticed a flying Pokémon coming towards the board. _It's small, but it is definitely not Pelipper... wait. Why does it looks like he's flying towards me-_ Taiki thought before he was slammed by the bird-like Pokémon. Taiki got knocked back, and rolled behind before he stopped to a halt. The Pokémon, however, was surprised and quite worried about Taiki's condition. It flew right beside him.

"Hey, hey! Are you alright? I'm so sorry! I couldn't stop flying, the wind's too strong nowadays, and I couldn't control myself!" the Pokémon said as he used his wings to get the dizzy Taiki up. Taiki clutched his head as his perspective was still spinning. "It's... urgh... alright... oh man, everything's spinning..." he moaned before he collapsed again. The Pokémon was worried again, for he slapped his wings, trying to wake him up. "Hey, hey! Don't pass out! I... oh man... already knocked someone out on my first day..."

"Don't worry, he's fine, just needed to recover," Moray calmed the frightened Pokémon, who was still in a shock over Taiki. "You're Rowlett, right?" The Pokémon turned his head 180-degrees before replying, "Yep that's me! I'm Rowlett, nice to meet you-" But Moray fainted before Rowlett finished his sentence, because the 180-degree spin freaked him out so much that he couldn't handle it. "Another one? This is terrible, Pelipper's going to be so mad..."

Rocky and Joquid, who just watched the scenario, gave an awkward smile before Rocky told Rowlett, "He'll be fine, I think. He's just frightened about your 180-degree head spin." "Oh my, sorry! I'm used to that, and I forgot that some Pokémon were freaked out by that..." Rowlett apologized, and he started to wake the two fainted bodies of Taiki and Moray by slapping them with his wings. Rocky and Joquid just enjoyed the scene as they rested.

As Taiki and Moray woke up, they heard a Pokémon screaming, "Guys! The Kecleon brothers are here! The Kecleon brothers are here!" Taiki muttered, "Huh...? Kecleon? Who's...that?" Rocky got Taiki up to his hind paws before explaining, "The Kecleon brothers were shopkeepers who sell good items. They were also friendly in general. I wonder what made them come back..."

Some of the townsfolk were gathered around something, which made Taiki suspicious if the Kecleon they were talking about is some sort of legendary Pokémon, but when he got a closer look, he saw some chameleon-looking Pokémon, which is not what he had been expecting. One is a bright green while the other is purple, and both of them were waving their paws in front of everyone. Both of them carried a bag with a lot of food items and other stuff Taiki could not comprehend.

"Hello everyone! It's great to see you guys! I didn't expect you all to return from this place, and even rebuild it!" the green Kecleon said, having a broad smile from his face. "Yeah, we're just visiting this place since it's a memory lane, but this is certainly unexpected!" the purple Kecleon exclaimed, his face filled with shock and happiness. The Pokémon that were surrounding them explained that Rocky and his team had helped on everything that happened around here, and some even pointed onto Rocky. The Kecleon brothers walked towards Rocky, and Rocky was, truthfully, a bit nervous, not knowing what they would respond.

But all anxiousness had faded away from his heart when the green Kecleon patted him on the shoulder while he thanked him. "You certainly did a fine job around here! Even establishing a team to do so, I'm astonished!" His brother came beside him and told him, "If you need anything from us to fix this place back up, count on us! No discounts though, we gotta keep our business secure, you know." He even winked at him, which made Rocky laughed a bit.

Then, they walked towards the team members. "I'm so glad you guys joined Rocky's team! Last time we've met, he told us that he's gonna rebuild the town. Oh man, it wasn't an easy dream to begin with, so we didn't take it seriously..." the green Kecleon explained, before the purple Kecleon said, "But who've known! The first part of the town is now completed! Great work, all of you! Still no discounts. And I should stop that joke right now." He scratched his head with an awkward look.

Rocky came towards them with his face a bit awkward. "So, I'm really glad that you two came along, but... we did not build your shops yet, I mean... since I didn't expect you two to come so fast." He told the two Kecleon brothers. The purple Kecleon laughed. "Ho ho, it's fine! We want to help out in the meantime, it's not like we're here just to sell and walk away, no no! This is our home, and it'll be forever. We'll help out with whatever we can!"

Moray smiled. "That's great, we're kind of in need of more Pokémon that can help us to build fences. Defense is pretty much needed for now, so if you can, help those Pokémon out." He pointed towards some Pokémon who were working on the fences. "Sure thing! Let us place our supplies somewhere, and we'll start! Thanks, Moray!" The green Kecleon shook his paw before he and his brother head off to somewhere they can place their stuff. But before they do, Rocky suddenly had a question... _there's another Pokémon that was as likeable as the Kecleon brothers, but who...? It was the Pokémon that trained me to be as strong as I am was right now... wait a minute._

"Um, wait a moment, you two!" Rocky stopped them on their tracks.

Both of the Kecleons turned around to the wide-eyed Rocky. "Yes, what is it? Anything you would like to buy?" The green Kecleon asked. "During your travels, have you seen Sherman? I'm pretty sure he's as close as you two are."

"Sherman? Oh, yes. We've ventured around Phosis Forest for a while before he sensed something. I'm not sure what, but he said something I could not understand. Something about the legend being back or something. Then, he went into Mystify Cavern and told us that he's gonna stay here to rest and focus on his prescience. That's a few days ago. I'm sure he's still at the cavern somewhere." After he finished his sentence, he and his purple brother went back to place their supplies.

"Phew, glad he's alright... thanks!" Rocky bowed down to both of them before he ran and shouted to the team, "Guys! Let's go to Mystify Cavern now! A new rescue operation awaits!"

Taiki was suddenly shocked by Rocky's sudden urge to rescue the Pokémon he was talking about. He knew that rescuing Pokémon is a must, and it has to be done as soon as possible, but not in an instant. He asked Rocky, "Woah, wait a minute. Who's Sherman?"

Joquid answered Taiki's question while Rocky went back to their base to resupply for the impending rescue mission. "Sherman's a Lucario, a Pokémon that uses his Aura to either fight or sense one's personality. He's one of the oldest townsfolk around here, and he's known to be humble and wise. Many respected him. He's also Rocky's mentor, I mean, he's a Lucario and Rocky's a Riolu, so it would make sense that he would teach him some moves or his Aura. He treats Rocky like his best companion, and to know that he's still alive made him hyped for this mission, haha."

Just as Joquid finished explaining the whole story to Taiki, Rocky emerged suddenly and told the team, "Alright, let's go! Sherman's waiting!" "I'm not going." Moray said in a calm tone. That stopped Rocky from advancing any further. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Someone needs to stay here and organize the townsfolk to rebuild the town. If not, this part won't be finished anytime soon. And since you two are going as well," he pointed to Joquid and Taiki, before continuing, "I'll stay here to organize."

Rocky, now fully understood his intentions, replied, "Alright, if you say so. But don't be the boss around here! You better do some work as well!" Moray only rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. See you three in a bit." He said before walking away.

"Alright, now that's out of the way, let's go!" Rocky ran as fast as he could, while he practically had to drag Taiki and Joquid to catch up with him towards the exit of Estoria Town. "Slow down, slow down! My feet hurts if you keep on dragging me like that!" Joquid exclaimed. _This will be another tiring day..._ Taiki thought, while he too struggled to keep up with Rocky.

At the entrance of Phosis Forest, Rocky asked them if they were ready to head in. "Yeah, I'm all set. Mystify Cavern is filled with Rock-type Pokémon, right? I'm strong against them," Joquid said, before realizing something wrong with Taiki. "Wait, Taiki's an Electric-type, his Thundershock will have little effect on them." "Well, the good old combo should work, then." Taiki suggested, before it was rejected by Rocky. "I wouldn't want to use Tackle onto a Rock-type Pokémon. Ok, so... I know a move that isn't really effective, but its damage is better than your Thundershock. It's called Iron Tail. Basically making your tail solid iron to create a powerful hit."

_Something like this exists... it's still hard to imagine I have a tail now, and it still feels weird to have one..._ Taiki thought. Without wasting much time, Taiki sighed and asked, "Alright, but how would I do it?"

"I am not sure. You're a Pikachu and I'm a Riolu, remember? But since it's from your tail, try to focus the energy towards it."

"Wait, but how do we know if he can use Iron Tail, anyway?" Joquid asked, unsure if Taiki can even manage to do it. In the Pokémon universe, every Pokémon can only use 4 moves, and Taiki had four moves: Tackle, Tail Whip, Growl, and Thundershock. If he must learn Iron Tail, he needs to forget a move.

"Oh, right. So, you may need to forget a move you know, in order to make space for you to use Iron Tail. If you can learn it, that is."

"Forget? How? For me, Tackle is basically knocking a Pokémon, and Growl is just me shouting whatever my mind has." Taiki responded, unsure how this is going to work.

"Good point... up until now, I had not forgotten one of my moves yet. Taiki, maybe you should try to focus on your tail for now, and see what happens next."

"Alright, I guess. I'll give it a shot."

Taiki closed his eyes, and prepared to focus the energy. He could feel it building up, and thus he transferred it to his tail. He moved his tail a bit just so he can feel it moving and made sure the energy went to there. He focused and focused... nothing happened. _Hmm... nothing. Maybe I should imagine my tail turning into iron. It's called Iron Tail for a reason. _Taiki tried to imagine his tail turning into iron. He imagined it to be a bit heavy, but durable and strong, like an iron sword. Suddenly, he could feel his tail getting heavier, and it felt... powerful, and durable, but some parts of it wasn't covered in iron. So, he continued. Every single ounce of energy was used to cover his tail into iron, and after a few seconds, his tail was completely iron. Iron Tail was successfully initiated.

"Amazing! You've done it, Taiki!" Rocky applauded.

"That's certainly something!" Joquid smiled.

Taiki opened his eyes, and when he looked at his tail, he's astonished, for his tail was now covered in iron, and it's slightly heavier. Wanting to try out the power of the move, he jumped and swung his tail in the air, and he could imagine the impact when it collides with a Pokémon. Taiki was amazed by this newfound power. But, he failed to notice that he was still in mid-air. Unable to quickly recover, he fell belly-first onto the ground. He moaned as his tail began to transform from iron to normal again, with fur and all.

Rocky and Joquid, who witnessed everything, laughed out loud and stumbled to the ground, while clutching onto their bellies as well while doing so. Taiki heard their laughter, and his face was red, although it was not shown for he laid completely still on the ground. He moaned again, clearly annoyed by this.

After he got up, he recounted the fact where Joquid said he may forget a move if he learnt Iron Tail. He told his thoughts to Joquid, who had just stopped laughing. "Yeah... do you feel something though? Like, an inability to shout or tackle or something?"

Taiki tried Growl towards Joquid. In an instant, Joquid felt the loss of power from his body. "Hey! Well... Growl works. Now for Tackle-" he was cut off from the sudden Tackle from Taiki. Joquid tumbled and stopped with his face facing up the skies. "Okay, that works. Now for Tail Whip...?"

Taiki shaked his tail around Joquid, trying to use Tail Whip. Nothing had happened. "Do you feel anything?" Taiki asked. "Well, I did not feel anything, apart from a loss of power thanks to your Growl."

"Well, that's a shame." said Rocky that had just stopped laughing as well. "Tail Whip is useful to weaken enemy Pokémon... but hey, you can use Iron Tail, which is a plus to me." Taiki shrugged, for he did not mind the loss of him using Tail Whip. "Iron Tail's cool. Now, shall we go?"

And so, they went into Phosis Forest, with a new move learned by Taiki. Taiki's Iron Tail, although it's not effective against Grass-types, but it still packs a punch, and thus they easily went through the Mystery Dungeon. At the end of the dungeon, they found... nothing. It was a dead-end, and the only thing standing in their way is a rock wall.

"Kecleon said it's somewhere in Phosis Forest... but I see no entrance to Mystify Cavern though." Taiki wondered, while he examined his surroundings. On the corner of his eye, he saw something unusual about the stone wall. It's flat, which is not like any terrain at all. Near the "wall", he saw something bulging on the wall. When closely examined, it was later recognized as a button. "Everyone stand back." Taiki warned the team. He pushed it, and suddenly the ground shook violently as the walls gave way to an entrance. Within the entrance, it was a cavern filled with colourful gems and a beautiful layout.

"Woah! That's one beautiful cavern!" Joquid said in amazement.

"I know, right? It's got to be Mystify Cavern!" Rocky agreed.

"This is beautiful... I've never seen such beauty in my own world before..." Taiki gasped, his mouth open wide.

Eventually, they started to walk into Mystify Cavern. It was yet another Mystery Dungeon, but this time the team seemed to enjoy it, as they admired the beautiful walls that were covered in various gemstones. Although caverns were supposed to be dark and gloomy, but this particular cavern is filled with bright light and wonder. They were tempted to pick up some gems to bring back home, but they didn't have the time nor space for their bags to put in. They are on a mission, and missions usually come first.

Inside the cavern, just as the green Kecleon said, it was inhabited by many Rock-type Pokémon, thus Taiki's Thundershock will be useless during battles. But his Iron Tail, combined with Rocky's Aura Sphere and Joquid's Bubble Beam, they managed to beat the hostile Pokémon with little to no injuries. In every third stair they found, that's when Taiki found something odd at the room where the stairs are. He motioned his allies to come and take a look, and when they arrived, they too, were confused. It was a key that was made out of a blue gem, and it seemed like it was of great importance. Not wanting to take risks, Taiki grabbed the key into his bag in case it was needed.

After beating an Onix with Taiki's Iron Tail as the finisher move and hurried towards the stairs, they reached the end of the dungeon, but they found something odd that made it stood out to the rest of the Mystery Dungeons. It was a room with 3 doors.

"Have you two ever seen this before?" Taiki asked, for he knew that they had been into Mystery Dungeons more than he had. Both shook their heads. "A puzzle in a room... how interesting. Let's see the question." Rocky replied, before he went near the three doors to look at the puzzle. There's a big sign above the doors, and it reads as follows:

"Dear adventuring Pokémon, welcome to the first room. Here's the question. Who had sacrificed himself to save the two Pokémon heroes from a Pokémon that was from the future? If you know the answer, use the key you've found to the correct door."

The doors had a sign above them, with answers provided. The sign from the left door says, "Dusknoir", the middle says, "Dialga", and the right one says, "Grovyle".

"Oh no... a history test?! I suck at these... it's so boring, I didn't remember a single thing!" Rocky exclaimed, while he clutched his head in agony. He moaned here and there, realizing that getting to Sherman won't be as easy as he had thought.

"Well, Rocky's out of the question... Joquid, do you know-" Taiki turned to ask Joquid before he saw Joquid sitting on a corner. "Why a history test of all places... why a history test of all places..." he murmured to himself, his head low.

_Oh dear... this will be up to chance if that's the case..._ Taiki thought as the two Pokémon beside him had lost confidence to answer the question. He tried to cheer them up. "Um, guys... let's try to answer this through logic. Sure, I don't know much, but maybe something about them could help us to the right path. Don't you think?"

Rocky lifted his head, knowing what Taiki was trying to say. "You're right... maybe their roles or personalities would help... Joquid, aren't you good at those things?" Joquid sighed, and then he got up with a bit of confidence on his face. "Yeah... I could figure those out. Let's see..." He went to examine the three answers.

"Dusknoir... isn't he like... the bad Pokémon in the story? That's one part I could remember. And Dialga, he's a Legendary Pokémon. I'm not sure why he would sacrifice himself since that Pokémon is super powerful... but still... that's out of the question."

"Grovyle... hmm, he's a Grass-type Pokémon. He's no Legendary, nor a Mythical. Just a regular, good ol' basic Pokémon like us. I think that's the Pokémon that would do something like that, wouldn't he?"

Rocky and Taiki nodded and smiled in response, although both of them did not know what Joquid was saying. _I'm just glad that they recovered quickly. _Taiki thought.

"Alright, Gro...um... Grovyle it is then." Taiki said. He then took out the gem key from his bag and went towards the right door to unlock it. The door opened, and to their relief, they were greeted with another room through a passageway. But, it was yet, another room with a puzzle.

It's the same as the previous room, only with a different puzzle. Taiki went to look at the big sign to know the puzzle. He reads, "Congratulations, wise ones. This is the next question. What should we do to prevent another calamity like the one a decade ago?"

"A decade ago? Isn't that the battle with Dark Matter or something?" Taiki recalled, looking at Joquid. "I think so. Let's see the questions." The three of them looked at the answers. The left says, "Hate.", the right one says, "Care." and the right one says, "Summon."

Taiki felt like it was something that was used to prevent Dark Matter from causing another calamity, and that's what he told to the team. "Good point. So, it's going to be either hate or care, since summoning... whatever it was, won't really stop it. If I could remember properly... Dark Matter is made out of negative emotions." Joquid replied, thinking hard on the possible answers. At this point, Rocky knew the idea straight away when Joquid said about what it's made out of.

"I know! Dark Matter relies on negative emotions, right? So, we should have positive emotions! That'll prevent him from coming back!" Rocky said proudly, his eyes closed and his head high to show his confidence in his answer.

"I agree with Rocky. That means, "Care" is the possible answer." Taiki agreed, and he went towards the middle door to unlock it with another gem key. The door opened, and Rocky was right, for it revealed another passageway towards the third room.

_This should be the final room... I've collected three keys so far, and I've used two. This should be the last._ Taiki pondered, but he was worried that there could be more. Puzzles aren't usually predictable, and the aspects of a puzzle could puzzle people out, and then would usually succumb to craziness. Or at least, that's what Taiki thinks of puzzles, anyway.

Once again, there is another puzzle, but there's only one door. And unlike the other 2 rooms, there's a pedestal that has some sort of aqua aura around it. Joquid began to read the large sign that's above the door.

"Good job. This is the last puzzle. A certain species has come to this world because the world is in dire need of it. Because of that species, it had saved our world numerous times. If you are the said species, please stand on the pedestal."

This puzzle baffled everyone. What kind of Pokémon came to this world and saved it numerous times? No one had a clue about the so-called species, for they knew that every single Pokémon lived in this world and there's no way one could survive in outer space, unless it came from another planet or some sort.

"Joquid, can you think of any Pokémon that can live outside this world?" Rocky asked.

"Um, there are a few, but those are Legendary Pokémon, and they are definitely not the ones who had saved the world a lot of times. Um... from what I can remember, the Pokémon that came to this world... is unlike any other."

"Can you clarify?"

"What I mean is, it's not an undiscovered Pokémon, or anything like that. It is one of us, but the so-called species' soul was inside a Pokémon's body. That means..." Joquid explained as he slowly realized what species it was. He and Rocky looked at Taiki, who was still focused on the question. Taiki felt uneasy, and looked at the two Pokémon that were staring at him. A sudden realization came to him.   
"... You think it's me, right?"

"Who else? It's definitely you, Taiki." Rocky smirked.

Taiki went towards the pedestal and stood on top of it. The blue aura that surrounds it began to surround Taiki's body, from top to bottom. After a while, the aura glowed green, a signal that it was the correct answer.

Taiki let out a breath of relief, and then went down from the pedestal to unlock the door with the final gem key. He took out the key and unlocked the door. "Sure hope this is the final puzzle..." Taiki muttered, while Rocky and Joquid went in as well.

At the end of the passageway, to Taiki's relief, it was a large room with a Pokémon in it. The room has a bed, a chest with food items, and bookshelves, which Taiki thought it's an all-in-one room. The Pokémon, who was sitting near a bookshelf, smiled at the three Pokémon who entered the room.

"Ah. You three finally passed. I was worried you all would not." The Pokémon said in a slightly deep voice. It looked almost similar to Rocky, except a bit taller. "Rocky, Joquid. I'm glad you two remembered the answers to the questions. I knew for a fact that you two weren't the best in history class."

"Sherman! I'm so glad that you're still alive!" Rocky hugged him tightly, refusing to let go. After all these months, the two of them, Riolu and Lucario, mentor and student, were now reunited. "Glad you're still kicking. And Joquid, too. Been ages ever since I've saw a Piplup these days." Joquid smiled.

"Now, about you." He pointed to Taiki. "Me? What about me?" Taiki asked, unsure why he was specifically mentioned. "I can sense that you're not from this world, yes?"

Taiki just stared at Sherman with amazement. _Wow. Just with his aura, he can sense me already... "_Yes. I'm a... human."

"Good. Very good. I know your purpose, human. To collect some fragments, yes? The fragments that were important to you, right? Because I can feel it."

_How much does this Pokémon know? This is astounding! Never would I know Pokémon like him can read minds!_

"Yes, sir. I would... um... appreciate the help."  
Sherman chuckled. "There's no need for you to be afraid of, kid! I won't harm you, for you are important for your upcoming quests. Now... about the fragment."

"Honestly, I did not expect such things. I was in here, using my Aura to sense what was going on, as usual, when I can sense 4 things flying around through random directions. When I focused on them, I could not relate them to anything I knew. So, I figured... it must be from another world. _A human may have arrived..._ I thought."

"And so, I created these puzzles, for I can foresee what will happen, and to test you three as well." He continued after he stopped to make sure they can keep up with the info. "Unfortunately, from where I live, I can only focus on one fragment. I was able to pinpoint the location when it landed."

Taiki's heartbeat went fast all of a sudden, his eyes widened. "Where was it, sir?"

That's when the Lucario's expression became dark, for the location the fragment landed was dangerous for them.

"Mount Kinablak. Home to Ghost-type Pokémon, and the most powerful Ghost-type Pokémon in the mountain; Wickyu."


	5. Mount Kinablak

In Mystify Cavern, after they had completed the three puzzles set up by Sherman, Taiki, Rocky and Joquid had finally met him, and now from the Lucario, they learnt that the fragment is now in Mount Kinablak. Mount Kinablak is a high mountain which consists of Ghost-type Pokémon, and their leader is a Mimikyu called Wickyu.

"Really? Th-the second fragment is on Mount Kinablak?" Taiki asked Sherman.

"Why, yes. Rocky," The Lucario faced towards Rocky, "I know you haven't fully utilized your Aura yet, but can you focus to feel the fragment at your right? It's somewhat close to here, so it shouldn't be hard to find."

"I'll give it a try." Rocky replied, as he closed his eyes and began to focus.

His face scrunched up, trying to remember what the fragment looked like and using his Aura to locate the second fragment. Taiki and Joquid just stood there, looking at Rocky. After a while, his eyes opened, and he panted all of a sudden, exhausted from focusing with his Aura.

Sherman chuckled at the sight of Rocky's face, before asking, "So, have you felt it?"

The Riolu nodded, too tired to answer.

"Nice! Looks like our next stop is at Mount Kinablak!" Taiki said, excited on the upcoming journey. He looked at his Dimensional Amulet that had been wrapped around his neck for a while, before gave off a smile. _Now there's 2 more that were missing. Alright... let's do this! _He allowed himself for a hopeful thought, not wanting the dangers of the Ghost-type Pokémon to overwhelm him. Joquid smiled, for he knew what Taiki was thinking.

On the other paw, Rocky looked a bit worried. It's not the exhaustion from using his Aura; it's about the Ghost-type Pokémon. Something had made him worried, and he didn't like it one bit. It may be fear of anticipation to encounter such Pokémon, or it could be that he's terrified of the Pokémon themselves, he's not so sure, for he couldn't judge his feelings. Sherman noticed the frightful expression of his student, but he chose not to mention it. _This kid will go through what may be worrying him. It's good to face them on, Rocky. Every fear can turn into courage. _He smiled before he snapped Rocky out of his thoughts. "So, I may know Taiki's arrival, but not so much on you. What has happened since the unfortunate happened?"

Rocky raised his head, immediately replacing his fearful expression to a smile. "You won't believe it. Remember the last time I've said when we ran away, that I'll restore it again?"

"Ah, you've done it, haven't you? I'm proud of you. " Rocky blushed under his mentor's compliment. "I mean... yeah, but I couldn't have done it without them."

"Heh, I wasn't even supposed to be here until I saw Taiki and Rocky. Caught them battling against the members of the group that terrorized our town for Taiki's fragment." Joquid said, being confident on his actions. "And I found him while exploring the ruined town. Being buried in rubble and all." Taiki replied.

"Ho ho, that's a "hard" place to be in, Rocky." Sherman laughed. Realizing Sherman's joke, Taiki and Joquid laughed as well, but Rocky only moaned, for he had heard a lot of bad jokes during his training with him. Not wanting to stick around to hear even more jokes, he cut them off by asking Sherman if he wanted to come back to town, now that there's more room for everyone. Sherman nodded.

"Of course I would come back. This place is certainly boring, and I missed the lively days of the town. And besides, there's more for you to learn, young one. Now, let's get going. I have a shortcut." He got up from his chair and pressed a button that's on the side of the chair. The ground suddenly shook, and then the wall behind the chair gave way to a passage, and within the passage, was a staircase with light shining on it.

The four Pokémon went up the stairs, until they have reached the ground floor of Phosis Forest. They began to walk on the road that leads to Estoria Town. Rocky and Joquid talked with Sherman, wanting to know his story after the invasion, and Taiki just kept quiet as he walked as usual. He still doesn't want to interrupt their conversation and let them catch up with their mentor, for they had not seen him for so long. Taiki felt his heart heavy though, but he had no idea why he had that kind of feeling. _I don't know what's going on... I kept myself quiet not just because they're having a fun time, it's just that I don't really talk much, since I had no one to talk to in my home. I don't really have much to talk about anyways, especially regarding the mist of my past. Besides, I fear I could lead to awkward situations. I suppose I should not interrupt for now, but I should start up a conversation someday..._ He pondered for a while about it, and although he was feeling uneasy about it, he's glad that he could at least figure out what was bothering him.

Sherman, who was still talking among his students, noticed the Pikachu's grim look. One Aura sense and he immediately knew what was on his head. "Hey, Taiki. Come here for a sec." Startled by the sudden gesture, Taiki lifted his head in a sudden, and began to walk at Sherman's side, not knowing why he had called him for.

"Since you're from the human world, why not explain what it's like there? If you aren't bothered with it." He asked, giving a smirk towards him. "Um, sure..." Taiki replied, and then he explained how his universe was like, from the smallest details to some large ones, but he decided not to tell them about the chaotic situation his world is in, since he doesn't remember much about it.

As Joquid and Rocky talked among themselves, Sherman got closer to Taiki and whispered to his ear. "I know you're not a good talker, but try to engage in conversations often. I could guess you didn't have anyone to talk in your world, but here, you're among friends. Engage in conversations, no matter how small or big the topic is. Let them know you a bit better, and in exchange you'll know them better, thus creating a strong bond with them. Keep that in mind."

_He used his Aura again! He's right about one thing though... I should try to engage more. I suppose it's pretty obvious anyway... Alright, here I go..._ Taiki, now feeling a bit more confident about himself, ran towards Rocky and Joquid and talked a bit more about his past, despite not knowing much about it. Sherman chuckled, for he had given him a bit of confidence to strengthen their bonds.

After they walked while they had a great conversation, the sight of the buildings from Estoria Town finally came into view, and it was in great timing as well, for the sun was about to set. Their arrival was soon seen by the Pokémon who had finished doing their tasks, and suddenly a noise as loud as thunder came to greet them, for they noticed the Lucario that gave them the wise words they needed for their daily routines.

Sherman responded the cheers by saying, "Yes, it's good to be back. It's all thanks to those four." Everyone cheered for the team that had found Sherman, and it was just as loud as the previous one. Taiki imagined the cheers can even be heard from Protia Forest, for the forest was the closest to the town. It could even reach the ears of Pancham's group, but he decided to not relieve those bad memories. Instead, he enjoyed the warm welcome of his team along with Sherman. Various Pokémon took charge on making food for their arrival, while the rest were about to arrange chairs and tables before Sherman himself stopped everyone from doing what they are about to do.

"You all... there's no need for such a feast. Treat me as your normal villager, please. How about we have a simple dinner to celebrate the revival of this town? That'll save time and require less work." Everyone agreed. "Wise words indeed!" A Squirtle exclaimed. "Sherman's advice never gets old, I say!" another Pokémon said from the crowd.

Soon, everyone gathered around a campfire, enjoying dinner that consisted of Gummies and Berries while Sherman explained his time in Mystify Cavern. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood as they listened carefully with some good laughs when he said some bad jokes.

As the night became darker, the only source of light that shone throughout the darkness was the campfire, along with the happy faces of the Pokémon around it. Soon, they realized it was getting late; it's time for bed. Joquid put out the campfire and motioned everyone to sleep for tomorrow's cleanup. After all, it seemed that they were almost done. "Just a few more buildings to restore and certain parts to be decorated, and the first section will be officially cleared and rebuilt." That's what he told everyone.

Everyone went into their respective homes. Taiki, Rocky, Joquid and Moray went into their base, getting ready for bed. As usual, Taiki chose to sleep on the couch, while the rest of the team slept in hays. He tossed and turned, yet he was unable to sleep. Nothing's been bothering him; in fact, he was in a good mood and nothing bad had plagued his mind. It was just the events of today that made him kept thinking. The discovery of the second fragment's location, the motivation to start talking, everything. He continued to toss and turn, trying to shut his reoccurring thoughts that prevented him from sleeping. What he didn't realize is that Rocky's still awake.

"Hey, Taiki." Taiki was startled immediately; he didn't expect someone to wake up this late.

"Did I wake you up? Sorry." He responded, having a feeling that he woke up because of his tosses and turns.

"Nah, I couldn't sleep as well. Just, worried about some stuff."

Taiki knew that Rocky is a determined person who would do anything to accomplish his goal, so seeing him scared of something is a bit off from his usual personality. Out of curiosity, Taiki asked, "What about them? Let me guess," He continued in a mischievous tone, "more history questions up Mount Kinablak?"

Rocky groaned, but he chuckled for a bit. That was a bad joke, but it helped to calm him down. "Very funny. I bet you don't really like learning the history of your world as well."

"Jokes on you, I got a bit of amnesia, so me not knowing parts of my world's history is not on purpose."

"Fair point."

"Seriously though, what is on your mind?"

"It's just..." Rocky stopped for a bit, unsure if Taiki would laugh at his reason or not. Nevertheless, he continued. "Ghost-type Pokémon scares me."

"I guess so. They're Ghost-type Pokémon for a reason. I would be scared as well, even though I've never met any of them before."

"On the same page, or just not wanting to offend me?" He looked at Taiki with his eyes squinted at him.

"Dude, everyone's bound to be scared. It's our natural response to the unknown. That's what makes us beings with emotion."

"I guess..."

"Hey, it's alright. We've got your back. Don't worry about it, alright?"

Rocky exhaled, letting all of the pressure that built within him go before giving Taiki a little smile. "Yeah... yeah, I suppose. Thanks, Taiki. I just... really need to let it all out."

"No problem. Let's go to sleep, clear your mind away from your fears. It's going to be a long day tomorrow."

Taiki closed his eyes and gave a short yawn before drifting off to sleep. Rocky tried to sleep as well, but the thought of the Ghost-type Pokémon still gave him the creeps. The thoughts continued to plague his mind, and he kept imagining himself to be surrounded by those Pokémon, with Joquid and Taiki knocked out at the side. He continued to worry about them the whole night, until...

...

...

The light isn't bright outside, for the large clouds had prevented most of the sunlight from reaching the ground. The winds were cold but with moderate strength; enough for Pokémon to enjoy the cold and not be blown away. It was the perfect day to play kites or to hang out outside, but sadly those activities were not on the team member's list.

Taiki woke up, rubbed his eyes and yawned for a bit before getting off the sofa. _Today's the day,_ Taiki thought while he got off the couch, _time to get the second fragment. Hopefully this time we could get it without much difficulty._ Ever since the last time they've recovered a Dimensional Fragment, they were defeated and the fragment could've been lost to the black market if Joquid hadn't arrived on the scene. Now that it's on a mountain, with only Ghost-type Pokémon to deal with and the so-called powerful Mimikyu, he figured that it would be tougher, but Taiki felt confident about their quest since he could learn some new powerful moves. _Yeah, since I can use Thunder Shock and Iron Tail, we should be able to.... Ummm... maybe not._

Taiki looked at Rocky, surprised by the look of his face. Rocky's eyes had dark bags underneath, his face seemed like he hadn't slept for a long time, and it almost reminded him of a zombie; almost lifeless, and almost seemed dead.

"Rocky, are you...okay?" Taiki asked, worried about his condition. Then he remembered his conversation with him yesterday, about his fears. Taiki guessed that he could not sleep the whole night, still thinking and imagining negative things.

Rocky did not respond for a while, and it was like he didn't realize Taiki's presence. He just stood there, not a care in the world. Only when Taiki shook him forcefully, while saying, "Rocky, snap out of it..." he finally came to his senses.

"Huh? Oh yeah... I'm... fine..." he replied in a tired tone, as he gave Taiki a weak smile. He seemed like he's about to collapse anytime, for his body was moving left and right as if he had lost balance over his body. Taiki managed to sense this and carried him to his nest, and he laid him down.

"Don't tell me, I know you are still scared about them. But dude, get some rest. We need a fit team to go against all odds. Rest here, okay? Try not to think too much." He comforted Rocky, patting his head.

"R...rest? N...no... we gotta get... your fragment back..." he mumbled, trying to get up only for his weak arms to give in and cause him to fall down to the soft hay.

"We'll go after you're rested. Me and Joquid will help out in the village while you do that, okay? Don't tire yourself out," he assured Rocky while he headed towards the door and opened it. "Have a good rest, buddy."

Once the door has been shut, Rocky took his advice to heart and tried to sleep. The thoughts started to haunt him again, but he followed Taiki's advice and did his best to ignore them. He reached out for his bag that was still wrapped around him, trying to find anything that could get him out from this mess.

Taiki wandered around the town, trying to find Joquid to train their moves together. Since Ghost-type Pokémon could be a big challenge towards them, especially Rocky, he wanted to make sure that they are ready at all costs. Eventually, he found Joquid who was working on a stall with Moray. He walked towards them to check what they are working on. The stall itself had green on the left, and purple on the right, with a massive shelf behind it and a strange looking chest beside it. When Taiki got closer, the two of them wiped their heads, for they had finally finished constructing the stall and its necessities.

"What is that?" Taiki asked Joquid from behind. The Piplup turned around to meet Taiki, and pointed to the stall. "That's the Kecleon Brother's shop. We just finished constructing it for them, and boy, it was tiring!" Then, he pointed at the weird-looking chest. "That's the Deposit Box, where we can put our items and money in."

Taiki thought the stall was decent enough, but he was a bit concerned about the Deposit Box. After all, it looked simple and plain; anyone could take it and claim it as their own. "Won't anyone steal the items inside, though?" He asked to Joquid that just sat down and rested from his work.

"The Deposit Box is said to have powers to keep our own stuff, and we can access it from any other Deposit Box around the world. Weird, but that's how it works." Joquid answered, letting out a sigh. "I'm as curious as you are, but I don't know. It's a mystery, that's for sure."

Just as Joquid finished explaining the Deposit Box, the two Kecleons arrived from their right with crates on their paws, and were immediately amazed by the new, decorated stall that both Joquid and Moray made. "It's amazing! Thanks a lot, you two!" the green Kecleon exclaimed, while he placed the crate he's holding beside the green side of the stall. "Yeah, thanks a lot! Now we can do our business here!" the purple Kecleon gushed, as he placed the crate he's carrying as well to the purple side.

"Glad to help." Moray replied. "The usual, huh?"

"Oh yes." The green Kecleon answered. "I'm still selling berries, seeds and whatnot. While my brother here, he sells orbs and Technical Machines." Taiki understood most of the explanation, but he tilted his head upon hearing "Technical Machines". The green Kecleon noticed this and explained it to him. "Technical Machines are small machines that let you learn moves without much difficulty. Usually, as you progress through Mystery Dungeons, every time you feel a bit stronger, you will "level up", which means you can take more hits, won't get slowed easily, and get a bit stronger. When you "level up", you can use moves you haven't learned before, at the cost of an existing move if you had learned four moves already."

"Do you understand?" The green Kecleon asked, and in response, Taiki nodded, understanding a bit more about this world.

"So, welcome to the Kecleon Shop!" shouted both of the Kecleon brothers, raising their paws high up in the air in union. "What would you like? Since we've got a new stall, all items are now 50% off!" Both of them showed Taiki, Joquid, and Moray a list of items they are willing to sell. "We'll put up the items on the shelves later on, for your information." The purple Kecleon whispered to them.

_Reviver Seeds... Geo Pebble... Pecha Berry... maybe I should have the Reviver Seed, in case one of us faints. 40 Poké... I think I have more than enough._ Taiki pondered, as he reached out for his bag to grab the money he had collected during his travels in the Mystery Dungeons. Soon, he handed the green Kecleon 120 Poké, for he wanted to buy three Reviver Seeds. He told the green Kecleon his purchase, and thus he replied, "So you've chosen the 3 Reviver Seeds. That's 120 Poké. Thanks for your purchase!" He handed the three Reviver Seeds to Taiki, in which he placed them into his bag.

Joquid, who had just finished purchasing some items from the purple Kecleon, noticed that Taiki had finished buying some items as well. "So, what did you buy?" he asked. "Just Reviver Seeds, in case the Ghost-type Pokémon are a pain to deal with." "Nice," Joquid replied, before handing him a small machine. It had the name "Thunder Punch" on it. "Here, you should learn another move. I've heard Thunder Punch packs a great punch. Get it? Haha."

Taiki rolled his eyes, before accepting the small TM. It was round, with some components here and there, with a red button at the sides. "Man, learning 3 moves in 3 days. Crazy, isn't it?" He mocked Joquid, who hadn't learnt a new move for the past few days. Joquid scoffed at his joke, before he told him, "I don't mind. Press the button to learn it." Taiki did as he was told, and suddenly, the machine displayed a scan on Taiki's body. He was startled by the sudden movements of the TM, but he held still, not wanting to interrupt the scan. A few moments later, the TM let out a small "ding" sound and then said, "You've learnt 4 moves. What move do you want to forget?"

"Forget Tackle. It's not powerful enough." Joquid suggested Taiki. Taiki nodded, and said to the TM, "Tackle."

"Are you sure?" it asked.

"Yes."

"Beep...boop.... You have forgotten Tackle and learnt Thunder Punch!" Then, the colours of the TM had faded, signalling that the machine was used.

But despite all that, Taiki felt... nothing. No sensation, no loss of power, nothing. "Um... I felt nothing. Is the machine broken or?"

The purple Kecleon said, "Well, that meant it worked. Why not try it out?"

Suddenly, the Piplup felt a cold sweat as Taiki looked at him, eye to eye. Taiki gave a grin, which made him uncomfortable. Flashbacks came to him, and he remembered the scene where he used Growl and Tackle as a test. Taiki was about to initiate Tackle into Joquid when he immediately stopped Taiki. "Wait, wait! How about you try Thunder Punch when we're in Mount Kinablak, okay? Don't use me as your personal training dummy here!"

Taiki chuckled. "Alright, alright. Are we all set? Because we gotta wait for Rocky to recover, he couldn't sleep-"

Just as Taiki was about to finish his sentence, he was cut off by a scream from behind, which surprised him. "Don't go without me! I'm coming!" He turned around, and saw a Riolu that ran towards them. It was Rocky. The bags under his eyes were partially gone, but everyone could see his tiredness, judging from his face. "What are you doing? You're supposed to rest!" Taiki exclaimed, not expecting Rocky to be up that fast, considering that he just left a few minutes ago.

"I know... but I couldn't just stay here and do nothing. Besides, I'm fine! How am I not fine?" Rocky replied, as he panted after he ran beside Taiki. "Come on! Let's get going already!" He pushed Taiki and Joquid towards the exit, and the both of them were confused by the sudden outburst, especially Taiki, for he knew that he's still afraid about the Ghost-type Pokémon, so seeing him this enthusiastic and eager to go just confused him. What made him confused even more is that Rocky is now slightly energetic than before.

"Alright, alright. Stop pushing us, you're making our feet hurt!" Joquid stopped Rocky. He then turned to Moray, who was still stunned by Rocky's actions. "Moray, we're gonna go to Mount Kinablak to retrieve Taiki's item. Just... keep the town safe, will you?"

The Oshawott was still slightly confused about Rocky's actions, replied with a "Yeah, go ahead." And thus, the trio set off to Mount Kinablak, somewhat prepared for the challenges that are waiting for them.

As they walked on a road that leads to the mountain, Taiki could not help but feel odd about the sudden energy burst from Rocky, so he asked, "Alright, out with it. What got you up and moving so fast? Last time I checked, you're really exhausted."

Rocky just chuckled. He then reached out for his bag and held out a piece of Berry that had a part of it eaten. It had a purple shell with a yellow part under it. Joquid looked at the Berry closely before he realized what Rocky had eaten. "Chesto Berry, huh. I've forgotten that you had one in your bag during our last journey. So you ate it just to go along with us?"

"Even when you are... scared of the Ghost-type Pokémon?" Taiki asked, a bit of concern in his tone.

"You're right... but it's like what you've said, Taiki. You two will have my back, no matter what. I'll... try to be brave." Rocky's voice quivered a bit, but there's some hint of bravery. Rocky continued to move forward, a brave smile plastered on his face. Taiki on the other paw, was a bit bewildered about his expression of confronting the Ghost-type Pokémon, however, he was glad that Rocky had shown a bit of courage to help him reclaim his Dimensional Amulet.

The team walked for a long time, crossing a stream, some hills and ledges, and eventually, a mountain was on sight. It was not the tallest mountain they had ever seen, but according to the map Joquid was holding, that mountain was Mount Kinablak. Taiki motioned the team to quicken the pace, for he feared that once they retrieved the fragment, it may be in the middle of the night, or even worse, someone may have stolen the fragment. Rocky and Joquid agreed and began to run with their hind paws, with Taiki running with his four paws.

As the mountain got closer, they found the dark entrance that leads to a cave inside. There are small torches that illuminated the cave, but not too bright to see clearly, and not too dim for them to locate their way out. They even saw a sign on the right walls that said, "Mount Kinablak, Mystery Dungeon. Beware! Ghost-type Pokémon roams this place. Proceed with caution." Taiki wasn't fazed about the warning, but he noticed the grim faces of Rocky and Joquid, who were definitely fazed by the warning. Not wanting to lose hope on their mission, he motivated the team by saying, "Alright, let's do this. Stay close team, this is gonna be a hard dungeon." before they went into the deep caves.

The walls are surprisingly blue with a bit of grey in the mix. The tunnels are wide and long with an unusually cool breeze that gave the team an uneasy feeling. Given that the cave was roamed by Ghost-type Pokémon, they were on edge the whole time, for they did not want to meet them at all, and were nervous about the fact that one of them could scare them before finishing them off. Still, they continued onward with a brave face but terrified hearts.

Soon enough, they had faced quite a lot of them. When they encountered their first Ghost-type Pokémon, a Gengar, Taiki tried to use Thunder Punch for the first time. He imagined the surge of electricity flowing through his paw, which it did. His right paw is now glowing with electricity, and then he charged forward to punch Gengar. It dealt some decent damage, and when he tried to use Tackle as a test, he just... couldn't. He knew what Tackle is, but he doesn't know how to do it, which he thought was an odd feeling. After defeating the Gengar, they continued exploring the dungeon. However, more Ghost-type Pokémon appeared, and even with Taiki's Thunder Punch, they were still a pain to be dealt with, especially with Gengars and Haunters, which kept giving them scary faces or to disappear completely before reappearing and launching their move. There were times Rocky and Joquid were severely hurt or badly poisoned, however, the pain and poison diminished upon consuming some Oran Berries and Pecha Berries that they've collected over the times in various dungeons. But soon, their supply was running out, and thus they had to be on their paws to avoid detection, and they had to be careful up until they were near the stairs.

It seemed that they fought for eternity, given that the swarms of the hostile Pokémon don't seem to stop, but after reaching the 12th floor, they found a nice clearing for them to rest. "Finally..." Rocky said as he collapsed onto the floor. "Those Pokémon are really ruthless... and scary..." He gave a deep breath before exhaling it, releasing some of the tension that was inside him throughout the dungeon. Taiki agreed, as he laid on a wall to recover from a rather powerful move cast by a Grangar, but he opted to not consume his last Oran Berry; he wanted to use it when the situation is dire. Joquid looked at the tired bodies of Taiki and Rocky. "You said it, Rocky. But so far, you've fought the most with them. I'm impressed, really." he comforted Rocky, while he patted his shoulders with his paw.

After a considerable amount of time had passed, Taiki told the team to continue forward. The exit consisted of three paths, and the three of them are pitch-black, which made the team hard to decide which path is the best. Rocky went forward first, but then he felt something on his feet with a "click". He looked down, and saw a plate that had been pressed down, Taiki, who was the second to come out, noticed that Rocky was looking down onto something. That's when he saw a plate that resembles a mechanism that was way too familiar with him. He had seen these before.

"Everyone! RUN-" he shouted before a sudden tremor shook the ground like crazy, causing the team to fall down. Joquid heard some splashing and the rushing of water from behind and was shocked to see a large stream of water gushing towards them. They tried to run away, but the water was quick enough to carry each of them towards a different path. Taiki held onto the edges of the path, trying to hold on, but then another wave came in and managed to push him into the depths of the room. He was tumbling in the wave as it pushed him towards the end of the room. His face eventually met the ground, and he coughed out some water that was in his mouth.

As his senses returned to him, he could not find Rocky nor Joquid anywhere, leading him to believe that they were separated into different rooms. But he hasn't given up hope that they weren't exactly separated. "Hello? Rocky? Joquid? Are you two alright?" He shouted towards the vacant room, and his echo can be heard from a distance. It turns out that his gut was right because eventually, he heard Joquid replying with, "Taiki? Where are you?" "I'm not really sure, but from where I am, it's vacant with no other Pokémon in here! How about you?" he responded, while he tried to locate where the screams of Joquid came from, but to no avail.

"Well, there's a lot of colour here, that's for sure. Wait, where is Rocky though? Rocky? You there?" Joquid exclaimed his name a few times before getting a response. "Hrng... yeah... I'm here... " he coughed for a while. "Where... are you guys?"

"Somewhere around here," Taiki answered his question. "But I'm unsure where. Speaking of which, since we're separated, we should continue forward and try to escape from this place."  
"By...by ourselves?" Rocky stammered, not liking this idea one bit. He was still reeling from the Ghost-type Pokémon, and judging from his tone, Taiki knew that he was still worried. "It's okay! You have your bag, right?"

"Yeah..." he responded.

"Alright, you should be good to go. Don't worry, you've been through worse! You're already doing a great job on tackling the Ghost-type Pokémon a few moments ago!"

Rocky wanted to continue, but he was right about one thing. He was a bit braver than last time, since he was able to help Taiki and Joquid to defeat the Ghost-type Pokémon without letting the emotion of fear overwhelming him. Although doubtful that he could take on them without the help of Taiki and Joquid, he responded with, "Yeah... you're right. I should be... brave."

Joquid cheered Rocky. "That's the spirit! Now, let's go!"

Upon hearing the message to move on, Taiki, along with Rocky, eventually exited the room and into a different Mystery Dungeon.

In the dungeon Taiki's in, the caves were light blue with a mix of dark blue. The light was a bit brighter than before, but the pathway towards each room on each floor is quite narrow, which helped Taiki to deal with multiple hostile Pokémon one-by-one. He was a bit concerned that he had to battle them all by himself, however, he was somewhat confident that he could take them on, since he had learnt a few strong moves. And he was right, for Thundershock and Thunder Punch are the moves he relied on to damage the Ghost-type Pokémon, since using Iron Tail would just cause Taiki to miss, for they tend to disappear often. Growl worked sometimes, but he opted to not use it for the time being. By the time he reached the 5th floor, he was almost wiped out, and sometimes he had to bend down while clutching his hind paws to catch his breath.

At one moment, he was close to the stairs before a Spiritomb managed to catch him off-guard and landed a Dark Pulse onto Taiki, but he got up to his paws fast enough to quickly initiate Thundershock onto it and ate a Blast Seed to secure the win. He turned around and saw more Ghost-type Pokémon behind him at a good distance, but far enough for Taiki to escape through the stairs.

After climbing for 5 more floors with even harder Pokémon to defeat and even more berries to consume, Taiki arrived at a nicely decorated room, with carpets and all. Desks, sofas, even a bookshelf can be seen as well. Strange... why is there furniture in a mountain? Could it be... yeah, it could be him. He pondered while he waited for Rocky and Joquid who hadn't escaped their own dungeons. As he looked around, there wasn't much to see, and the books from the bookshelf are actually quite boring. The only object that got him curious was the black door on his left, which made him suspect that the room beyond the door was the so-called Wickyu. He wanted to face him first, but according to Sherman, Wickyu is quite powerful, so he decided to wait for his friends.

A few minutes had passed by, and suddenly the noises of someone huffing caught his attention. He looked at the second path, and out came a wide-eyed Joquid with some wounds on his paw and body. Out of fear, he accidentally crashed into Taiki, and thus the both of them collapsed on the ground. "Sorry, sorry! That Haunter was scaring the life out of me!" Joquid apologised, in which Taiki accepted his apology. Taiki beckoned Joquid to eat up his Oran Berry so his wounds can be healed. Upon consumption, the wounds disappeared, as if there had no signs of damage from before.

Just when the wounds are completely healed, Rocky came out from the third path, his eyes completely out of focus, and his body shook slightly. Knowing what he's about to do, Taiki rushed towards Rocky and caught him before he collapses. "So... frightening... so... many of them..." Joquid just chuckled at the sight of his friend being paralyzed by fear while Taiki led him near Joquid and made him sit down.

After the team recovered with some Oran Berries that Joquid collected along the way and Rocky back to normal after Taiki calmed him down, they got up and walked towards the door, ready to face whatever that's on the other side.

Taiki, being at the front of the team, opened the door with a creak, and inserted his big head into the other side of the door, trying to see what awaits him and the team. What he saw was a wide, grey room, with some black spots on the ground and walls that looked like burns and marks of slashes across the carpet. Standing on the carpet at the far end was a Pokémon that looked like a Pikachu, but it was shorter than him, the face almost looked like it was drawn, the tail seemed like wood, and there are even eyes that were on his body. It has some sort of white ring with a crystal attached to it, and it's wrapped around the Pokémon's body. Taiki pushed the door completely, letting Joquid and Rocky to come and see what Pokémon that was.

Just like Taiki, they did not know what Pokémon it was, but judging from the design of the room was different than the rooms they've been in the Mystery Dungeon, and given that it is the only Pokémon that stood in their way, they can confirm it was the Wickyu they are looking for. The Pokémon, who was standing there absentmindedly the whole time, began to notice Taiki. Suddenly, it gave off a screech so loud Taiki felt that his ears are ringing non-stop.

"You! How dare you to step into my HOME?!"Wickyu hissed, glaring at Taiki. Taiki could feel the intensity of the rage from the Pokémon alone since no other Pokémon could perform such a scream that loud unless the Pokémon was really, really angry. The Pokémon asked him again with a higher tone.

"Woah, calm down! What did I ever do to you?" Taiki asked, unsure what the rage was all about, considering that he had never met the Pokémon before. In response to his words, the Pokémon screeched even louder.

"YOUR APPEARANCE! I ENVY YOU PIKACHUS THAT HAD SO MUCH POPULARITY!!!" Wickyu bellowed again, before continuing with a calmer voice, but the words contained enough rage to terrify the team. "I just wanted friends, some friends that could be a part of my life, so I created this costume, just so I can be like you," it pointed at Taiki with its shadowy claw, "but... No one liked me. They just rejected me or hated me because I copied your appearance. Do they know how long I had to sew this? Do they know that, when they fought me and succeeded, it left me with a broken neck and cuts, in which I had to painfully fix? DO THEY KNOW THAT?!"

The team were definitely not expecting a cruel backstory to the Pokémon who claimed to be the strongest Ghost-type Pokémon. Joquid stepped in front of Taiki and tried to comfort the now disheartened Wickyu. "Hey. I am deeply sorry for the atrocious past you had overcome, I truly am. Look, if you wanted friends, then-" but then he was cut off by Wickyu.  
"SILENCE! IF YOU ARE THIS PIKACHU'S COMRADE, THEN I'LL FIGHT YOU AS WELL." Wickyu unleashed both shadowy claws to threaten Taiki and Joquid, preparing to fight.

"Man, he's pretty enraged about you huh." Joquid whispered to Taiki, and just when he nodded, Wickyu bellowed again, for it heard the conversation. "HOW COULD YOU? I'M A FEMALE, YOU IMBECILE!"

"Oh, sorry!" Joquid awkwardly smiled.

"NO MATTER. BECAUSE YOU'LL DIE LIKE THE REST. See those burns and marks?" She gestured to the black burn marks and the slashes of the room. "Many Pokémon tried to best me. Some were effective against me, some were careful planners, but none could defeat me." She boasted before continuing, "You know, I'm awfully bored. I haven't lost one battle, and the win streaks don't matter much to me anyway. So, Pikachu," she pointed her shadow claw towards Taiki, "Try to entertain me."

Wickyu started her attack by sending Shadow Claw towards Taiki. Sensing the attack, Taiki dodged to the left, while Joquid initiated Bubble Beam to counterattack. The bubbles hit Wickyu multiple times, knocking her backwards. However, she just chuckled at Joquid. "Dear, it'll do more than just bubbles to defeat me." Then, she started a Shadow Sneak, and before Joquid could react, a shadow formed behind him, and then it slammed him, sending him flying, and then landed with a massive thump. Joquid moaned, still conscious, but was unable to get up at the time being.

Seeing the injured Joquid, Taiki was about to engage but he asked Rocky if he wanted to fight with him. Rocky was still reeling from the events in the dungeon, and the frightening Wickyu was, well, frightening. Her outrage had spooked him. Taiki, not upset about it, just reassured him. "Don't worry, we'll cover for you. Just try to not get hit." Then, he charged at Wickyu with Thunder Punch forming at his paw.

He jumped up high, aiming his punch at Wickyu's head, but she was prepared for this, for she immediately sent a Shadow Ball up into the air, right at Taiki. He landed his punch at the Shadow Ball, which caused it to explode before Taiki landed on the ground. Suddenly, Wickyu rushed towards Taiki, and he tried to stop her by sending a Thundershock, but she was so fast that he had to send Thundershock after Thundershock at her, only to miss. She got close, and initiated Play Rough, which is using her wooden tail to smack and hit Taiki repeatedly. One of her hits caused Taiki to be knocked back and skidded on the ground while tumbling before he managed to stop himself and got up.

Wickyu charged again, but Taiki was ready. His tail became iron, and then swiped it towards the charging Wickyu. She was forced to sidestep, but then she was being hit by bubbles from behind and propelled forward thanks to the now-standing Joquid. Taiki used the chance to initiate Thunder Punch right at her face, and when it landed, the shockwave launched Wickyu upwards, her body spinning while she was flying upward. Joquid then used Hydro Pump towards Wickyu that was in mid-air, and a huge gush of fast-moving water was sent from his mouth right at her. The water pushed her towards the wall, and when the move was finished being used, she fell to the floor, while landed with an impactful thump, a good distance between them and her.

However, she was still conscious, only slightly weakened. Taiki and Joquid bent on their knees to recover from the battle, but they could only do so for a while, as Wickyu was back up again. Taiki couldn't see her facial expressions, but judging from the massive combo they did to her, she was now definitely enraged. Joquid went near Taiki, preparing to fight alongside him so they can counterattack whatever she has to unleash. But, they both knew that if this continued, there could be a chance that a lucky hit would knock them out instantly, for they were slightly tired from the attacks. So, Taiki tried to calm her down, not wanting the fight to continue. "Listen, Wickyu. We're not here to challenge you, we just wanted-"

"You. Stop."

The response was immediate, and it didn't sound good. Usually, when Taiki heard this back in his world, it just meant that they were tired of going easy on him, and then they'll just let their powerful attacks commence. Luckily for him, he was able to fight and counter enough to survive, but he was unsure if he can do it again with Wickyu.

"Looks like you two, save for the whimpering Riolu over there," she pointed with her claws towards Rocky, which startled when she pointed at him. "are really good at this. But, none of you impressed me, and I gotta say, this is a bit tiring. How about I'll show you my finisher move?"  
_Yep. Knew it. Hopefully, it won't be that bad...wait, what is she doing?_ Taiki thought while he just looked at Wickyu moving around with her body shaking up and down. It seemed ridiculous to him, but it all made sense when the crystal on her ring glowed, and suddenly Taiki could feel a surge of enormous energy was given to her. She then jumped while enlarging her disguise to cover both Taiki and Joquid.

They couldn't see a thing, yet they were constantly attacked from left and right, but when they retaliated, they could not hit the source of the attacks. And despite all of that, the hits continued with such speed and strength, Taiki felt that he couldn't last long. His vision was blurred, his body becoming weak, and then he could only see black.

Rocky just stood there, traumatized by what he had seen. Wickyu had just enlarged her costume and engulfed both Taiki and Rocky, and suddenly her costume was like it was being poked, with sounds of a fight going on inside. Ignoring his timid heart, he ran towards Wickyu, and thought of using Force Palm to stop the attack, but it was too late.

Her costume then deflated, revealing the bodies of Taiki and Joquid. They both seemed like they had received a lot of hits, since there are a lot of red marks on each part of their body, which meant they were attacked from all directions. Rocky used his Aura to check their condition, having a slight doubt that they may... "Phew... just unconscious..." he murmured to himself. But, it doesn't stop there. Wickyu looked at him, and laughed as if she had watched a comedy scene. "Now, you're the one who's left. Isn't it funny? If you joined them, you'll experience the pain early. But now that you're alone... who knows how entertaining this would be, if YOU AREN'T EVEN BRAVE TO FIGHT ME?" She was right. If Wickyu could do... whatever that move was, wouldn't he be finished as well? Besides, Rocky had lost his bravery a while ago back in the dungeon, so what else he could do to fight back? What's the point of fighting, when he knew that he would lose?

"No... fighting is not about bravery." he blurted softly, but it was enough for her to hear.

"Oh? Finally, something interesting! Now, Riolu. If fighting isn't about being brave to fight back, what else? What can you possibly do, in order to fight back? You don't have your friends beside you."

"There is one. And that's called," he stopped himself for a moment before he said the word that reassembled Taiki's personality. "Hope."


	6. The Second Fragment

“Human… are you there?”

Taiki heard a voice, but he could not determine the source of it. He was still tired from the battle with Wickyu, so he just ignored the voice and continued to sleep.

“Human, wake up!” the voice bellowed, which caused Taiki to clasp his pointy ears. It is to no avail, for the voice seemed to be coming from his head. His eyes suddenly opened, and immediately got up, shouted, “Gahh!” in response. He looked around to find the source of the voice, only to find himself in a white space. _This seems familiar… _he thought, having a bit of déjà vu upon looking at the endless space filled with nothing but white.

“Of course it’s familiar! Don’t you remember me?” the voice seemed to yell again. Taiki could not stand this Pokémon’s yelling anymore, for every time this Pokémon yells, his ears felt like they would go deaf at any moment. “Hey! Whatever Pokémon you are, can you PLEASE control your voice? My ears are hurting from your yelling!” he told the voice, his paws closing his ears harder as a sign of protest. Silence followed throughout the space, and the sudden disappearance of the Pokémon’s voice made Taiki felt uneasy. But, he was even uneasy when it came back.

“Sorry, sorry! But why are you ignoring me? I know for a fact that you’re unconscious when I first asked you!” the voice questioned him, a hint of annoyance from the tone.  
“For your info, I’m quite tired from battling a Pokémon that tried to kill us. And now I’m stuck at a place I couldn’t really recall. Maybe I should just pinch my paws so I can wake up-”  
“Don’t!!!” the Pokémon shouted again, which stopped the Pikachu that was just about to pinch his paw. “Alright, alright! Stop shouting, for the sake of my ears!” Taiki groaned while he closed his ears again to prevent any more ear damage, although it was not effective. Then again, he was getting awfully annoyed by the fact that he could not see the Pokémon to talk directly, but it could see him and shouted with the pitch of a baby whenever things didn’t go its way. “By the way… can you show yourself? At least I can know what Pokémon you are, and my ears won’t get much damage from you…”

He could hear a faint “Alright”, and then suddenly gale winds appeared on the white space from his front, causing Taiki to get down and grab the floor to prevent itself from being blown away. The sudden winds appear to come from his direction, and he could see a dark silhouette within the storm. It was flying, had a huge head, with a small body. As quick as it appeared, it stopped. Taiki pushed his body up while taking a glance at the Pokémon that had appeared before him. It was a bit misty from the winds that had made its appearance, however the mist soon cleared and Taiki could see it properly.

The Pokémon was shorter than him, with short, stubby legs but long arms, with a star-shaped head that has 3 cyan paper-like… things, has yellow flaps on the underside of its arms and its body was white, with a curved seam at its belly.. The Pokémon giggled at the Pikachu. “Hee hee, nice fur you had there.” She said in a soft tone, pointing at Taiki. He looked at his yellow body, and realized that his fur was a mess; it was pointing at everywhere, and it was as if he suddenly had a growth spurt of fur. Filled with embarrassment, he swiped his fur downwards to make it tidy, before asking the Pokémon, “Do you really need such an entrance?”  
“I mean, you’re the one who told me to show myself. So it’s your fault that your fur is a mess.” She giggled, which made Taiki groaned for a bit in annoyance. As if on cue, the floating Pokémon started to introduce herself.

“I am Jirachi, the Wish Pokémon. I make wishes come true, if I want, so don’t get your hopes up. I am one of a few Pokémon that could feel and predict the future.” she winked at Taiki playfully before continuing her introduction. “So, a few days ago, as I gazed at the stars as usual, I felt something… strange. It was an uneasy feeling, and even then, it was unlike any that I’ve felt before. Sure, I’ve felt worse over the years, like time stopping, the presence of Bittercold and Dark Matter… but this strong feeling gave me the willies. It was dreadful, and I knew that I need to act before my worst fears became true. So, I wished for a miracle to counter whatever that may come to end our world again. And….” She stopped for a moment, panted for a bit due to loss of energy, before looking at Taiki. “You came.”

Suddenly, her appearance faded, and she panted her last breath before eventually turning into nothingness. Startled by what he had saw, Taiki called out for Jirachi. “Jirachi? Jirachi! What’s gonna happen to this world-” But before he could finish his question, he heard the word, “Hope.” But it wasn’t from Jirachi. It was a male voice, and it sounded like…  
And then he woke up.

…

…

The first thing he saw was black. Realising he was laid down to the ground, he rolled to the side, trying to know how much damage he had. All he could see is the red marks on his paws and body. The pain was all over him, making him unable to move much but was conscious to move his body into a sit position, while he looked at the Pokémon that had woke him up from the crazy dream fighting the Pokémon that had knocked him out a while ago.

Rocky used Quick Attack to try tackling Wickyu, but the agile Mimickyu dodged to the side and counterattacked with Shadow Sneak, but the move wasn’t quick enough for he was able to dodge it with the remainder of his Quick Attack. Now on opposite sides, both of them constantly raised and lowered their bodies, trying to regain their breath while formulating a plan to take out one another. Rocky focused to prepare himself a Focus Blast, however, Wickyu was unable to read what the Riolu was doing. It was too late when he released a beam of energy towards her, and the impact knocked her backwards, but it wasn’t enough to knock her out. She jumped back up and unleashed Shadow Claw to retaliate.

Both Pokémon gave their all to overpower themselves, but soon enough they began to tire, for none of them are willing to be knocked out by each other. Despite Rocky trying to fight his hardest, there’s no doubt that he’s still shaken by the appearance of Wickyu, as if he was fighting Taiki instead. Her moves were equally frightening as well, but he chose to believe that he would eventually defeat her, no matter how many times fear overwhelmed his thoughts.

However, Taiki could see his breath becoming quicker, his paws clutching his knees, while looking at the Mimickyu that was about to unleash another Shadow Sneak. He rolled to the side to avoid it before he gave a grunt while he unleashed another Focus Blast. The blast missed Wickyu by a few centimetres, which gave her the opportunity to retaliate once again. In spite of being tired and hurt from the attacks, Rocky dodged to avoid her Shadow Ball. _If this goes on, sooner or later Rocky would collapse as well… I gotta do something!_ Taiki worried, for if he faints, the team would suffer major injuries or even… but Taiki did not allow his thoughts to wander that far.

He noticed the sleeping Piplup, his eyes squinted and full of red marks as well. Suddenly, he remembered the Reviver Seeds that he had bought a while ago, thus his paws reached for his bag and grabbed the seeds. One of them was stuffed into Joquid’s mouth, and in an instant, Joquid woke up with a jolt, his body lifted and his wings to the ground to hold himself. Eventually, the red marks faded into nothing as well. “Huh? What was that?” was the first sentence he had spoken. Taiki showed him the Reviver Seeds, which led him to say “Oh. That wasn’t fun.”

“Yeah, and neither was Rocky battling against Wickyu and his fears. We gotta formulate a plan here.” Taiki suddenly whispered, fearing that Wickyu might overhear them. Although suddenly appearing to attack Wickyu may be a good idea for she did not expect them to be revived, which in turn gives them the upper paw, they reconsidered their options, for she had the move that knocked them out instantly, and there’s no way they wanted another dose of that.

The two of them discussed in whispers, trying to figure out what tactics they could use to take out Wickyu. After some hushed talks and nods of agreement, the Piplup stood there, his eyes squinted at the Mimickyu with a smile, prepared an attack. He sincerely hoped that this move could buy the three of them time to recover and prepare because whenever this move’s effects work or not, it’s all up to fate. The condition of the whole team depended on this move.

While Joquid prepared, Wickyu successfully dealt critical damage to the weakened Rocky with her Shadow Claw. His arm where she had hit became red, which caused him to yell in pain. Wasting no time, Rocky summoned a Protect to absorb her moves, his paw clutching the injured arm while he stood in defiance, although fear had just crept into his mind, reminded him that he could not win. She was just too powerful, and one more hit could knock him out.  
Shadow Ball after Shadow Ball was casted to damage the shield, with each hit leaving a bigger crack. The Protect shield was now filled with cracks, and the last Shadow Ball cracked it. Rocky stood there as he whimpered, but he stood tall to show his belief of hope that a glimmer of light would help him win. “You foolish Riolu.” Wickyu snickered, “Still standing there defiant? Your “hope” had led you here, with cuts and all. Want to say a final goodbye to your hope?” Rocky didn’t answer, his eyes trembled, forming a tear that went downwards his cheek. He wasn’t ready after all; he just started to revive the village, and now he’s about to lose his life. Despite this, he doesn’t blame Taiki for bringing him the pain. Sure, it was his fragment that made the team to go up Mount Kinablak, yet this is Taiki he’s thinking. A friend. The friend that gave him hope to revive the village. Why would he blame on someone that gave him the will to chase his dreams?

“No? Alright, LET ME HELP YOU.” She screamed with laughter, the Shadow Claw forming behind her, and went straight towards Rocky. He closed his eyes, waiting for the blow.

The blow did not connect.

A few seconds had passed. Nothing happened. Out of curiosity, he opened his eyes, and to his surprise, the claw was in ice. To be blunt, the entire claw with Wickyu herself was frozen in ice. He stepped back a bit, confused on what he had just witnessed. “Taiki, are you ready?” A familiar voice was heard from his right. He turned to find Taiki just finished eating an Oran Berry with Joquid wiping his beak. Apparently Joquid launched Ice Beam to freeze Wickyu, despite the low chance of it happening. The feeling of hope had strengthened when he saw his friends in good condition. “Taiki! Joquid! You guys are alright!” He exulted.

“I’m ready to end this!” Taiki replied, his paw forming an aura of electricity. He dashed towards the frozen Mimikyu while he jumped, his electrified paw forming a fist and extended towards her. The blow connected, resulting in a mini-explosion. Instantly, the ice broke, and Wickyu was thrown forcefully towards the wall and slammed it with such force that everyone could feel the impact. Not wanting to waste time, Taiki commanded everyone, “Alright, use your projectile-based moves to finish her!” Rocky and Joquid nodded in response, their eyes concentrated on Wickyu.

“Thunderbolt!” Taiki yelled.

“Hydro Pump!” Joquid yelled as well.

“Focus...Blast!” Rocky said, for he was too injured to shout on top of his lungs, yet it gave off a serious tone.  
Electricity, water, and energy, released from the three Pokémon, are now headed towards the Mimikyu that had just gotten conscious. She got up, but she was too late to do anything about the three moves that were heading towards her. Her disguise did not show any emotion; but the eye holes within the disguise revealed two wide eyes as the moves had hit her with an extreme force.  
The blows caused a rumble so strong that it’s almost compared to a regular Earthquake. Strong light shone from the moves, so strong that the three Pokémon had to cover their eyes. About 10 seconds later, the light eventually faded, revealing the impact.

Wall cracks, debris from the walls, and Wickyu’s disguise in the rubble was the sign the three moves were strong enough to knock her out. A soft moan was heard from the Pokémon, and it seemed that she won’t be up anytime soon. Relieved that they managed to finally beat Wickyu, all three Pokémon collapsed onto their backs, energy-strained from their move combo. “We… finally did it…” Taiki said wearily in between short laughs. “Man, she’s tough to beat, I’ll give her that,” Rocky remarked while he winced at his arm wound. Taiki realized that Rocky is still hurt, so he got up to his hind paws, and walked towards Rocky to give him the last Oran Berry he had. Rocky gladly accepted the Berry, and munched on it without hesitation. Slowly but surely, the wounds on his body healed and the red mark from the Shadow Claw dissolved into nothing.

“Thanks.” Rocky thanked with a smile, for the pain he bore was now gone and the nightmare was finally over.

“Thank Joquid, for making this happen. His Ice Beam was lucky enough to cause Wickyu to be frozen.”

“Yeah, you two better bow down and thank me, heh. Without my Ice Beam, we’ll be dead!” Joquid boasted without a beat, still lying down with his paw up in response.

“Hey, without my Reviver Seed your Ice Beam won’t be casted. So don’t you dare steal my spotlight!” jested Taiki, before the three of them laughed at each other, releasing all the tension from the intense battle.  
As much as they wanted to rest, they eventually got up and moved forward in the search of the second Dimensional Fragment. They headed towards the room that was right across the battle zone, with some certainty that the fragment must be in there somewhere. Taiki took the lead, since it was his mission and his fragment to find.

In the room, there is a punching bag at the left, a table full of costumes similar to what Wickyu had worn, a model of Pikachu, with a messy bed that’s beside a wooden, worn chest. Taiki’s guts told him that the fragment must be in the chest, so he unlocked the crate, and lifted the lid. Inside were pictures of wild Pikachu, - which Taiki thought was weird - a picture of Wickyu winning the ring that had caused Taiki and Joquid to faint before the power that it unleashed, and the fragment itself. He grabbed the fragment, observed it at different angles, before concluding that it was definitely his Dimensional Fragment. His eyes sparkled as he lifted the fragment high up in the air for everyone to see.

“The second fragment, retrieved!” Taiki announced triumphantly. Rocky and Joquid clapped with smiles on their faces, their eyes adoring the fragment as it sparkled with its colours of blue, green and cyan. A glimmering of light shone as it was being raised up.

While Taiki connected the second fragment with the other fragment in the bag, Joquid suddenly felt a weird pressure in his chest. Something felt odd, and that made him uneasy, so he checked outside to look for anything suspicious. When he stepped out of the room, he saw a shadow-like figure standing outside the room, but he could not make out what Pokémon it was. When it realized that it was being watched, it quickly ran away towards the right, vanishing itself out of Joquid’s sight. Alarmed, he ran inside the room to alert the others.

“Guys! We've got trouble!” Joquid exclaimed while he flapped his wings up and down in fear. Taiki placed the 2 connected Dimensional Fragments into his bag and looked at the frightened Piplup. “What is it? Is… is Wickyu still alive?” Taiki shuddered. If Wickyu is still alive, even after they launched their impressive combination of lightning, water and energy moves, then that means Wickyu must be one durable, strong Pokémon. Rocky’s eyes gone white while he fretted to Taiki, “Oh no… we’re...we’re not prepared for more fighting, are we?” Taiki looked at the sheer fear of his friend’s face, and deep down, he was terrified as well. However, they are able to knock her out for a while, which means they still have a chance to finish her. “We’ll do our best. Keep your hopes up.” Taiki replied. He motioned Rocky to go outside.

While they went outside, Rocky saw a flash of black towards the room. It was so quick, he did not know if it was his imagination or something else. Not wanting to take chances, he stopped Taiki. “What’s the matter?” Taiki asked, but Rocky held up his paw as a sign of telling him to be quiet. He closed his eyes and squinted, focusing on his Aura to sense any Pokémon that could be in the room. To his left, was his partner and friend, and inside the room, near the table, was a shadow about to wear a disguise similar to what they had seen. There’s no doubt; it was Wickyu.

He opened his eyes and warned everyone. “Everyone! Wickyu’s inside!” Joquid came over and he seemed to be prepared for a fight, while Taiki focused on his next electricity attack by charging up his red cheeks, sending some bits of voltage from them. In spite of being afraid, Rocky walked inside the room, and saw the Pikachu disguise just finished being worn by Wickyu.   
But instead of attacking, he merely asked her, “We’ve beaten you. There’s no point of fighting us, okay? We’re here just to-” Before he finished his sentence however, Wickyu just gave off a long, hard laugh, as if Rocky had said the funniest joke she had ever heard. Hearing the laugh, Taiki and Joquid went into the room, half-expecting a fight, only to see Wickyu’s head bent backwards, laughing like there’s no tomorrow. The team members had no words and just gave themselves puzzled looks.

Eventually, she stopped laughing and replied, “Fight? Oh man… no no no! There’s no point anymore, since you three had defeated me! And the fact that this Riolu asked if I’m about to fight again, ha!” Taiki stepped forward, and asked, “So… we’re cool now? I mean, you just suddenly attacked us for no reason.”   
“Yeah, we’re cool, despite the fact that you’re a Pikachu still made me envy you. Anyways, do you know why I fought with you three?”

The three Pokémon shook their heads in response.

“Well, you three do know that I am the most powerful Ghost-type Pokémon, right? Well, I live up to that name by training every day. Countless foolish Pokémon came here to challenge me, only to fail miserably. But no worries! I don’t really kill them. It’s better when a foe is defeated and attempt again, only to fail again! It’s so funny!”  
“But,” she stopped for a while to let her story sink in before she continued, “This had made me a bit… lonely. Upon this mountain, although I had other Ghost-type Pokémon that are willing to defend in my name, I was truthfully sick of winning over and over again. Heck, I’ve even forgotten my winning streak! And now, NOW, I’ve finally been beaten after who knows how long! Oh my Arceus, this means I still have to be better, quicker, and stronger! Thanks for reigniting my flame, you three!”  
The team were slightly out of focus during the talk, but Taiki managed to snap himself into focus when she stopped and replied, “We, um… are glad that your fighting spirit is back, I guess? To be fair, we’re here to take my fragment that somehow landed in your territory.”

“Oh, by all means, go ahead! Although I knew that you’ve already taken it already.” Wickyu replied. 

  
“Alright, thanks for the fragment. We’ll be taking our leave…” Rocky muttered quickly, for he was impatient of leaving this scary place. Wickyu’s appearance had spooked him long enough, and since they had gotten what they came for, he longed to get out of Mount Kinablak and into Estoria Town to get some sleep. Noticing Rocky’s impatientness, Joquid tried to come up with conversation topics so they will be here a bit longer, just to tease Rocky. When he noticed the ring that was somehow around Wickyu’s new disguise, that sparked an idea to him. “Oh yeah, Wickyu. Where did you get that ring from? It’s really powerful, and I would really want to know where you get it.” Rocky stared at Joquid with a terrified look while he moaned, “No….”

This seemed to make her happy for a bit. “Oh, you mean the Z-Ring? It’s a gift from Tapu Koko, a guardian deity of this region. I was able to defeat her in a competition, and thus she handed me a Z-Ring with the Z-Crystal. What you’ve witnessed just now is my special move called ‘Let’s Snuggle Forever’, a more powerful move of Play Rough. A ridiculous name, I admit, but I liked it.” Realizing what they are on to, she questioned them, “Do you three want one as well?”  
The three of them nodded. Joquid asked, “Yeah, it’s pretty useful. Do we have to participate in a competition and defeat the guardian deity?”  
“Yeah, but be forewarned, she is not a Pokémon to be underestimated with. She is quite strong, and to be frank, stronger than me. But, the lucky hit from Shadow Claw is why she gave this to me.” She replied, tapping the ring with its claws. “And you guys are just in luck. Tapu Koko is hosting another competition at about… tomorrow. Or the next tomorrow, I’m not sure. I’ve been in this mountain for who knows how long. And you three better not miss this chance, for the competition is held every 50 years.”

The prospect of getting such a ring excited everyone because once one of them has such a ring, formidable opponents would be easy to be defeated, and they can traverse through dungeons to save more townsfolk while not getting seriously injured from the hostile Pokémon. “Yeah, we definitely should.” Taiki agreed, with Rocky and Joquid nodding in agreement. “Thanks for everything, Wickyu!” Joquid said as he held out his paw, waiting for Wickyu to shake her hand. In a flash, her Shadow Claw appeared and shook his paw with it. Rocky, still terrified about the presence of the claw, prompted everyone to leave quickly. Taiki and Joquid chucked at Rocky’s actions.

As Rocky and Joquid left the hallway, Taiki just thought of something. He took out his team badge and stared at it while considering if he should ask Wickyu or not. Eventually, he shouted to Wickyu that was about to enter her bedroom. “Hey, Wickyu! Do you want to join our team? I know that you’re pretty bored here, so why not join us and help for a better cause?” Wickyu turned around and showed a thumbs-up sign with her Shadow Claw. He threw an extra badge towards her with great strength, and she caught it with the claw, before heading towards her room.

It was night when the team members of Lucky Star finally got out from Mount Kinablak. With no time to waste, the trio hurried towards the light from Estoria Town, with their scarfs fluttering as they ran. After a few minutes, they arrived at the town fountain.

The streets were empty, with only street lights that illuminate the town buildings and the team. They walked towards the team base and entered it at a quick pace, for they looked like bodies without a soul for being too tired from the battle with Wickyu. In an instant, all three of them collapsed in their own nests, with the exception of Taiki sleeping on the couch.

_Got the second fragment…Oh man, that sure was exciting._ Taiki thought while he yawned at the ceiling. It was so dark that Taiki could not see his own paw properly. Now that he got the second fragment, he wondered where the rest of them are. He was unsure if either Rocky or Sherman could locate the rest of them, and even if they could, he did not want to trouble them. They had helped him in many different ways, and he felt guilty if he asked for more. But, he could not help but think of his own role. Why was he here? Is there a role he should play? And what about the Jirachi he saw in his dream? There was some sort of danger that she could not explain, and thus he was here to stop it, but what? Everything seemed fine at the moment.

He figured that he’ll take his sweet time locating them anyways, for he wanted to stay in the Pokémon universe with his friends. Friends were something he longed for back in his universe, so now that he had some, he was reluctant to leave soon. I_ wonder why I am truly here… is it because I am supposed to stop a threat? That’s what Jirachi said. But, something tells me that there’s more than that… Oh well, I should get some rest for the competition anyway_. With more questions without answers in his mind, he soon fell asleep.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	7. The Z-Ring Competition

In Taiki's universe, the skies were just as gloomy as how it was for the past few months. No animals were roaming about, no sign of humans gathering resources freely, nothing. It was all controlled by the empire that was called "Empire of the World", led by Darkoir Xiehat, a skilled fighter and a strategist. Under his unbeatable strategies and influential talks, he managed to expand his territory across a huge part of the world.

When he found out that Taiki had the last component to finish his project, he gave a call to Javid, the general of the invading army, to take out his base with all they got. After the destruction of Taiki's base, he felt that it was another easy victory for him. Taiki wasn't expecting a sudden attack since he made himself very cautious of his actions and movements. Yet, he too was unable to be free from his grasp. After the explosion, he watched with an amused expression while the sand around the crater began to fill up, sealing the ruins below. A negative feeling washed over his thoughts, thus he looked down and shook his head lightly with sadness.

Taiki. You are a very brave person. Yet, you defied my rule and keeping your power alive. You managed to escape from me, but now you are free. You've escaped the power that's plagued this world. Go, and never return. He thought with a small smile, now looking up into the grim sky. It's about to rain, but since they're in a desert, the rain won't be a bother to him and his army. "Alright, retreat. The world needs us." He commanded towards them, and in an instant, they saluted their leader. "Sir, yes, sir. On our way, sir." With the crater in their wake, they left the base, not knowing that the impossible had happened.

It took 15 minutes to get back to their headquarters by foot, with Darkoir on horseback. They soon saw the large, medieval-like castle illuminating behind the setting sun. It was made with stone bricks and obsidian; some of the best materials to be a strong, durable defence in case of an attack and is a nice touch overall. Surrounding it was even more stone bricks and obsidian with some wooden roofs around it as well.

He and his army arrived at the gates, and when the guard that's manning it noticed the arrival of Darkoir and his army, he pushed a lever that in turn creates some mechanical whirrs. The gates that are made out of fences and sticky pistons rose up, letting their leader and his army through. Inside was small towns all over for the citizens that chose to accept his rule and ways of thinking. Although it wasn't much, however, the aspect of getting much better food than those in the camp appealed them. Thus, they pledge to obey their ruler through thick and thin, not doubting his actions, and not betray him by secretly helping those who are in the camp.

Darkoir was a malevolent, cunning and nefarious since he was the one who started a terrifying war against the world, taking down towns and cities one by one under his leadership, all in the name of the empire. Despite this, no one but Taiki dared to rebel against him, for they fear his wrath, especially after they hear about the destruction and abolition of Taiki's base, which decreased their morale of making a rebellion.

Before entering the castle, he commanded his army to do more training and turned to enter. Inside the castle, the interior was broad, surrounded with glowstones at each corner with glowstones that are surrounded by trap doors at each side, with fences supporting it from below, reassembling a small lamp post. A large, stone-brick throne was at the end of the castle, in which a man with a full white leather armour was waiting beside it. He saw Darkoir walking towards the throne with a serious face, which startled him since he was about to reveal his scientific projects to the ruler that annihilated every single civilisation he could find. Yet, he found himself the courage to give him an anxious smile - which is the best he could do under the circumstances of being terrified - and a formal greeting.

"G-greetings, your highness. How was the..." He gulped for a moment, before saying a word that he utterly hated to say for it contains as much death as Darkoir himself. |"...demolishment?"

Darkoir scoffed, before replying in a deep, menacing voice, as if he was speaking like the devil himself. "It went flawlessly, although he managed to take down some of my troops. Do remind the generals to train them harder. The loss of that much should never be replicated by future attacks." The man nodded, his face bearing terror. "Yes... your highness. Sir, I have completed my research about the possibility of different universes. There are its pros and... cons."

Darkoir glared at the man, which made him let out a small "gah!" in response to the sudden eye contact. He asked the man, "What are the cons? It better not be because of our technological limitations. If so, I'll have you executed."

"No, no! We have the technology to do so! That's one of the pros. The cons are... well technically it's only one con, which I think it won't be a big deal since you are amazing at leading your troops, so I figured that this small con won't be a threat to you and-"

"Enough!" He yelled at the man, snapping him out from his long explanation. "Gah!" He shuddered, backing off a block for he thought he was about to kill him. When no action was made, Darkoir queried him with a calm tone, but the intensity of his rage and annoyance within his voice was clearly felt. "Look here, professor, I don't want any more of your long explanations. Don't challenge my patience. Now, what was it?" He raised an eyebrow while looking upon the man.

"Sorry, sorry..." the man quavered. "Well, I was testing my handheld detector, which can detect anything that was from our universe beyond here. I tested the portal that lets us traverse through universes by throwing a piece of dirt, and not only it was able to detect the dirt, but it was also able to detect a lifeform in those universes. One of our own."

"Hmm... that's pretty intriguing." He pondered for a moment, thinking on who could've made such tech to travel through universes since there's no way someone with limited access to items and redstone could've made such advancements. All of a sudden, a flashback entered through his mind. He had seen a portal, with some blueprints and research books before a fight. Wait... that's it! A thought appeared in his mind. As quick as lightning, he whipped out the research books and blueprints that he had collected in Taiki's base. He handed the blueprints to the professor while he read the books. The books were all about universes, what kind of universes there are, and even explanations with possibilities that travelling through universes are possible. And that's the answer to the question.

Taiki... of course! How come that imbecile didn't cross my mind earlier? I should've known... he's still not giving up... that pathetic power of his...

...

...

"Ah...achoo!"

Taiki wiped his nose, his eyes a bit heavy while he swept the last house of the first road in Estoria Town. He didn't like how he had to immediately wake up just to help the townsfolk clean the house, but he put his grumbling attitude aside, despite the fact that there was a lot of ground and walls to clean. After he had finished cleaning the upper floor with some wrapped-up hay, he went down to exit the building, leaving the building for a potential Pokémon to live in.

Urgh... that sneeze was pretty bad... did someone mention my name? He pondered, while he looked at the Pokémon that cleaned the rest of the road. It may be nothing... oh well. I should tell Moray that I've done my part. He ran with his four paws towards their headquarters while he evaded the townsfolk that are carrying various items to repair some buildings.

Once he had arrived at the base, he noticed Moray talking to another Pokémon that's carrying a bag behind him while looking around the buildings that had been cleaned. "Well... Poppy lives there, so you can't live there..." he noticed Taiki as he finished his sentence. "Ah, Taiki. The building was cleaned, right?"

"Yeah," Taiki answered, while he looked at the Pokémon he had seen before in his research book. The Pokémon was a Buizel, which is a combination of a weasel and a sea otter - which he had never heard of either - with a yellow collar around its neck and two blue fins on its arms.

"Brilliant, just in time!" Moray conceded, before looking at the Buizel. "Alright, thanks to him, you can live there, Jatils. Be safe, okay?" The Buizel's eyes lit up, while he responded with, "Alright! Thanks, Moray and Taiki!"

As Jatils ran towards the house Taiki had cleaned just now, Taiki turned his head to ask Moray. "So, is there any more tasks?" Moray put his paw close to his mouth while he thought about it. He shook his head after a brief moment. This surprised him, for it only took a few days to replenish the town. "Wait, you're serious?" Moray gave a slight "Mhm.", which led Taiki to exhale out of relief.

"Finally, now we can rest for a bit before-" Taiki was cut off by Rocky, who suddenly ran towards them from behind. He looked tired from doing some cleaning at the road, but his fatigue had been overcome by happiness. "Wait, seriously, Moray? That's awesome!" Rocky exulted, as he shot up his paw towards the sky. "It's about time to move on towards the next road!"

Moray seemed like he was taken aback. "Seriously, Rocky? We've been working non-stop on the road, and now we've finally finished it, you expect us to work on the next road?" He chided, his eyebrows knitted while he stared at Rocky. "I mean, Moray, I didn't say right now! Like, maybe tomorrow or next tomorrow! Besides, more and more townsfolk are coming back from Phosis Forest lately, did you not notice?" Rocky clarified, a bit concerned from the sudden angry response from Moray. He had thought that he too was the kind that wanted tasks to be done, however, this was not the case.

"I do notice! But come on, it's not like only Lucky Star is working on the town! Everyone is willing to help out here, so please understand that they are tired!"

Taiki widened his eyes a little and backed away while the two Pokémon bickered and debated with each argument louder than the previous. I suppose these two just can't get along with each other without countering opinions... Taiki sighed, while he chuckled for a bit. But I guess it's a good thing Moray decides to stay in Estoria Town and help. If not, our journey would be a catastrophe...

While he was on his train of thought, he heard a low, old tone of chuckling as well from behind. He turned around and saw the old Lucario, Sherman. He walked towards Taiki and stood beside him. The Lucario and Pikachu spectated the fierce debate between the Riolu and the Oshawott before Sherman shook his head in laughter.

"These two rarely agreed with each other," Sherman said. "Even until now, when the village needs a revival, these two had very good opinions, and they wanted theirs to be heard. I guess we should stop them before they initiated moves at each other." Taiki nodded his head, knowing the consequences if they continued to be spectators of the debate.

Sherman calmly intersected between Rocky and Moray, his paws held out to push them away from each other. "Hoho, you two still are against each other, huh." smirked Sherman, while the two Pokémon glared at each other with their eyebrows knitted, their argument not over yet. "Look," Sherman continued, "how about this. The Z-Ring Competition will be held today in this town to celebrate its revival from the raiders, so let's prepare for that, okay?"

Rocky's ears perked up, immediately putting the argument aside and looked at his mentor. "Wait, really? Here, out of all the popular places in this region?" Sherman nodded, which elevated Rocky's happiness to the limits. But before he could express his emotions, Sherman gave some tasks to Rocky and Moray to prepare for the competition. In spite of being immediately disappointed that he had to work more, he ignored the negative feelings of his and ran off to work. Moray on the other paw just nodded, and he grumbled to himself while walking down the path. Both Sherman and Taiki high-fived each other, for they had prevented a major argument from being ignited.

While Taiki was working on his own task, he saw some Pokémon that he could not recognize entering the town from the entrance. There are some that carried a cuboid log, some had a large metal on their shoulders, and others with different shapes and sizes. But what stood out from the vast outsider Pokémon was a floating, orange-black Pokémon with a large shell that reassembles the half of a mask, and its hands end in two large claws to create a beak for the mask. For it seemed majestic to him, he temporarily stopped what he was doing to admire the beauty of that Pokémon.

"That's Tapu-Koko. She's the guardian deity of this region, and she's the one that gives away Z-Rings to the Pokémon who won in her competitions." Sherman told Taiki while standing behind him to look at the flying Pokémon. "We better get our jobs done, so no slacking, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll do it." Taiki replied, before turning away to finish his task.

After an hour of non-stop work, the large yet simple arena just outside the town was finally completed. It consisted of wooden structures that looked like obstacle courses and a medium-sized ring for battling. Around the arena are fences with seats behind them for the spectating Pokémon to watch. There was a booth right beside the entrance of the arena, and it's lined up with Pokémon that wanted to participate in the competition. Within the queue was the members of Lucky Star.

"Oh man, imagine winning the Z-Ring!" Joquid stated to them. "Yeah, unleashing a super-powerful move could definitely make me unstoppable!" Moray replied, his tone having a hint of confidence. It was true; the owner of a Z-Ring with the Z-Crystal would definitely make the user launch a really devastating move. Despite that, no one was really confident that Moray would win, since he was a bit out of practice for he only gave out orders in the village and didn't fight much. Taiki, Rocky and Joquid however, were trained to the core after they fought a lot in Mystery Dungeons during their missions.

"Oh yeah, about you..." Rocky steered away from the subject. "We totally forgot about this, so don't be mad. Here, your badge as proof that you're in Lucky Star." He looked at Moray sheepishly, half-expecting a retort.

However, Moray wasn't angry about it. He just said "Oh um... thanks." before heading forwards while he waited in the queue.

The other members of Lucky Star continued to chat about small stuff that happened in Estoria Town until it was their turn. They wrote down their names and signed with their paws, thus they were given permission to compete in the competition. Upon entering the arena, they were given a piece of paper that clarifies what activities the competition will hold. There are 3 challenges: Physical Challenge, Facts Challenge, and Battle Challenge. All of the Pokémon that entered the competition seemed to be excited about the upcoming challenges except the Facts Challenge.

After being gathered around, the Pokémon were split into 5 teams, each having 6 Pokémon in one. Before the Physical Challenge began, Tapu Koko levitated and floated towards the middle, preparing to give the competitors a speech. She looked at them, her eyes showing a glint of happiness. "Welcome, to the Z-Ring Competition!"

Everyone cheered and hollered for her. It was obvious that everyone was excited to see who would win the legendary Z-Ring, the item that only a few can only possess.

"Thank you for being supportive, inhabitants of Estoria Town! Now, let me show you the item that will be the prize for this competition." Tapu Koko exulted. She grabbed the prize from her handbag that she held for a while and showed it to everyone. The Z-Ring reflected brightly towards the crowd and the contestants, showing a glow of a rainbow-coloured aura. "Now, this Z-Ring I've made can be made so it'll fit what type you are. So, for those who won, I'll convert it into the type you are, and I will give you the Z-Crystal that was needed to activate it as well!" She explained, which was followed by a burst of cheers.

"She's amazing, isn't she?" A Pokémon Taiki did not recognize whispered towards his pointy ear. He nodded, agreeing with the statement. "Yeah. She's definitely something." Taiki warmed up his paws and hind paws while she continued after she pocketed the ring.

"Now, contestants." She looked at the participants from below. "Be forewarned that there will only be one winner, and no moves shall be used during the competition except for the Battle Challenge. Now, see those obstacles in front of you?" Her right shell was pointed at the different kinds of obstacles that are lined up, along with the finish line at the end. Some of the obstacles are barriers, mud pits, small swimming pool, and even a wall 10 paws high with rocks to climb. "This is relatively simple. Go through the obstacles, cross the finish line, and you will be advanced towards the next Challenge. I will only accept 3 winners from each group."

"Are you ready?" She asked them. Everyone in the group nodded. Taiki stretched his paws for the final time before going on all fours to prepare for running.

"Ready... set... go!"

Taiki's hind paws accelerated, and his front paws immediately pushed the ground to propel him forward. The competitors ran too with all their strength, but Taiki, being a small and light Pokémon, sprinted towards the obstacles with ease. He heard the screams of "Go, Taiki!" from Rocky and the rest of the members from Lucky Star. This gave him more motivation to win this Challenge.

Right when he arrived at the obstacles, he vaulted across the barriers, jumped towards the end of the mud pit, swam profusely in the pool, and climbed on the walls and around it despite having acrophobia. When he landed, despite his fatigue, he still ran on all fours to face the other obstacles. Regardless to say, he was able to outrun his competitors.

He was about to reach the finish line when he noticed that another Pokémon he could not recognise was about to overrun him. Not willing to accept being second place, he used every ounce of his strength to leap forward, which caused him to cross the finish line first, with the Pokémon crossing it just a few milliseconds later. Taiki crashed onto the ground with a heap and rolled on the ground before the momentum stopped. Although he was a bit bruised and out of breath, his only thought was the fact that he managed to cross the line.

Rocky and Joquid ran towards him despite being competitors. "Are you alright?" Rocky asked, while he looked at the red bruises. "Honestly, Taiki. That was way too reckless. But hey, it worked." Joquid said, before helping Taiki to get up. "Haha, I guess I am." Taiki responded before his bruises were treated by a Pokémon that's wearing a white coat, reassembling the medic for the competition.

Soon after, it was their own turns as well. Joquid managed to get second place, while Moray got third. When it was Rocky's turn to compete, he saw a familiar face in his group, but he could not tell who the Pokémon was. It had black and white fur, along with a leaf on its mouth. He was about to get a closer look when Tapu Koko told the group to be ready. Putting the familiar yet unknown Pokémon on the back of his mind, he concentrated on the Challenge. Because of his previous training with Sherman, he managed to get first place.

During a small break from the Challenge, he expressed his findings to the Lucky Star members. Everyone is just as puzzled as Rocky does. "I don't remember helping a Pokémon with those attributes before." Moray commented, while he took a sip of water from a bottle. "Neither do I. But, are you sure you're not seeing things?" Taiki asked, before he added, "Maybe... it's the stress of the competition?"

"No... I could've sworn I've seen fur like that before... but you may be right, Taiki. However, we should be alert of a Pokémon with black and white fur, just in case it could be something bad." Everyone agreed, before they returned to their own groups.

Right after the break had ended, Tapu Koko floated at the middle of the arena again. "Congratulations on the winners!" Everyone cheered at the remaining participants that stood in the middle of the arena. "For those who've lost, don't worry! The consolation prize is 500 Poké and 2 Oran Berries. Sorry for your loss!" She bowed down towards the disqualified participants with respect, showing that she too cared towards them. In response, they thanked her for the prize and the challenges they had faced, for they didn't have that much fun ever since the village was ruined.

After the disqualified participants had left the arena, she turned around and looked down to face the remaining. "Now, the 15 remaining Pokémon... time for the Facts Challenge! Get ready, for you'll be answering this competition's topic: History!" The participants had their jaws dropped while looking at Tapu Koko absent-mindedly. They knew that this Challenge was well disliked by everyone, but now she had to complicate the Challenge with questions about the history of the world.

"Now, now. I do know that this isn't favoured by everyone. But, it is the only way to let us all remember the terrible events that had befallen our planet and learn from them so we can avoid such things. So, without further ado, let's begin!" She chirped, trying to lighten the mood around her, although the atmosphere had not changed a bit. Taiki could hear Rocky and Joquid moaning, while Moray just gulped at the trouble they all had to face.

During the Challenge, it was no surprise that most of the participants had either failed every single question that was given, or struggled to remember the stories from their planet. Taiki, Rocky and Moray were able to answer most questions through logic and good old luck, but Joquid was so petrified on the questions given that he simply chose to throw in the towel and decided to spectate from the seats.

It was when he was near the entrance that he noticed a Pokémon that had black and white fur which was answering the final question. This time, he was able to see this Pokémon's full body, and was shocked to see who it was. After he was allowed to meet the participants again, he commanded the team members of Lucky Star to gather around him. Moray, wanting to annoy Joquid for surrendering the Challenge, started the conversation by saying, "Hey Joquid, too bad that-" but he was cut off by Joquid. "Rocky's right. I too saw a black and white Pokémon."

"See, I've told you!" Rocky chimed in, his face lightened a bit for someone else beside him knew it as well. But before Joquid managed to blurt out the name of the Pokémon, the black-and-white fur Pokémon walked calmly towards them. Taiki noticed him first, before his jaw dropped and pointed at the Pokémon. "Pan-Pancham?!" he stammered.

The three Pokémon whipped their heads to face the Pokémon, and they were too shocked to see the malicious raider that caused all of the trouble they had to deal with in Estoria Town. Pancham just gave them a cheery smile. "Heya. Fancy meeting you lot here."

Rocky, his tone gotten a bit deep, asked him with one of his eyebrows raised. "What are you doing here? Trying to win the Z-Ring?"

"Why not? Besides, don't you think Pokémon like us should be worthy of getting the glorious prize? The Z-Ring suits me well, don't you think?" He sneered at them.

"Why would Tapu Koko give a criminal a powerful item like that?" Joquid replied, his beak showing teeth. "However powerful, or smart, or crafty one is, being a Pokémon that ruins towns is definitely not worthy of getting a Z-Ring."

"And look who's talking, You, Piplup, had to surrender because you are truly not smart enough. Oh boy, I can still see you reeling from these easy questions!" He laughed, which caused Joquid to clench his wings, but Taiki stopped him before he could release his rage onto Pancham.

He then turned to Pancham. "Look, we're here to get the Z-Ring as well. But, let's do this fair and square. See who's really worthy of the ring." Taiki said, before giving him a warning. "But, if you dare to cheat in any way, let's just say that you won't be getting it forever."

Pancham crossed his paws and thought hard for a moment, as if he was actually considering Taiki's intentions. Finally, he replied, "Fine. I'll play your little 'fair and square' rule for now. But I'm sure I will win." He boasted, before leaving the scene with the team members of Lucky Star in their wake.

"Urgh, I can't believe that he's gonna try to win the Z-Ring. Like, that's way too much." Joquid seethed, still clutching his wings. Taiki could feel the intensity of the raging aura radiating from Joquid just by looking at him. "Hey. We'll win this for sure. We're team Lucky Star! We've done countless amazing things, we can't just let a Pokémon ruin our streak!" Taiki motivated the team although the little speech is just so Joquid can calm down for a bit. It worked when he relaxed his wings and gave Taiki an acknowledging smile. "I suppose so. Moray, Rocky, Taiki, win this for me." He shook their paws as a way to give support. "We will." The three of them replied.

After another break from the Facts Challenge, Tapu Koko emerged again and levitated on the middle of the arena. "Give your best cheers to the winners of the Facts Challenge! Oh, and, the disqualified participants shall receive the same consolation prize, only this time it's 1000 Poké." She exclaimed to the spectators, and in turn, they gave off another round of cheers and hoots towards the winners. Yet, this time it was slightly louder, for the most exciting Challenge is about to begin; the Battle Challenge, the most action-packed, exciting Challenge that serves as the finale of the competition.

"Now, I would like to point out one more rule before the exciting challenge begins." She stated out before continuing. "Items, scarfs or any hand-held items are prohibited. It makes sense since theses items are an advantage towards each other. So, kindly put your bags and scarves away in a box beside you." She pointed at the boxes that are beside the competitors. Without a moment too soon, everyone started to place their bags and scarves into their own boxes and locked it up before placing it inside a tent that was made to safeguard the boxes.

Although Taiki felt a bit exposed without his faithful, light-blue scarf, he knew that it's the only way to stay in the competition. After the participants were divided yet again to 2 members in a group, the Battle Challenge began with a Pokémon versus another Pokémon.

It was the most exciting Challenge by far, for the battling Pokémon not only had to rely on their moves but also their tactics. Moves are just tools to them; the strategy to unleash them is what makes it count. It wasn't the case for Moray, however, as he wasn't very good at battling, and thus he lost to Rocky's Force Palm. Rocky didn't have much time to celebrate, nor he had the need to since the only opponent they had to defeat is Pancham, who had just defeated a Chimchar.

Taiki on the other paw, was having a hard time for his opponent was a flying Pokémon that was called Emolga. He managed to fly a bit to dodge Taiki's Thundershock while he released one of his own, however it was dodged by Taiki without a scratch. Taiki was about to wear out, and so does the Emolga, for they had been battling for quite a while, and they're almost about to faint from exhaustion. However, Taiki decided to execute a risky procedure by darting towards Emolga and damage him with a Thunder Punch. Luckily, Emolga wasn't expecting a sudden attack and by the time his reflexes kicked in, it was too late, for he had been propelled in a straight line and crashed onto the arena walls, knocking him out. After the fight, Taiki was so exhausted that he had to take an Oran Berry from the medic to recover after drinking a glass of water.

As the last of the berry was into his stomach, Taiki noticed his wounds from the battle had faded away, and his strength slowly regaining. It was also when he saw a blurry body being flown in incredible speeds and crashed on the walls before landing with a thud. The Pokémon's head went to the side, unconscious. He recognized the Pokémon. It was Rocky. He looked at his opponent, and his heart sank when the Pokémon that defeated Rocky by sending him flying was none other than Pancham himself, and he was smirking when he saw Rocky's body carried away from the wreck. Darn... looks like it's me against him. Can I win... though? Maybe not...but... I got to try. He shook his head, trying to avoid any negative thoughts that may lower his confidence and hope.

"We have a winner!" announced Tapu Koko, while some medic Pokémon went towards the ring with a stretcher to carry the unconscious Rocky back outside the ring to be healed. Judging from the blue-purple wounds from Rocky, Pancham had used a lot of physical moves to deal such devastating damage. Looks like I had to keep my distance. If I can, maybe I should use Thundershock the most. Taiki thought, while he figured out a strategy against Pancham, who is boasting towards the spectators.

When the final match is announced by one of the Pokémon judges, Taiki closed his eyes and took a deep breath before exhaling it, his paws a bit jittery but not feeling afraid about Pancham. For the ring not to be fallen under his hands- I mean... paws. He opened his eyes, looking calmer than before, and was eager to get the fight started. In front of him was Pancham who was walking into the ring, and he seemed restless and impatient to get the fight over with. Determined to not get beaten by a small panda, he walked calmly into the ring, his eyebrows were set in a way that would make apparent their unshakeable resolve and determination.

"One of you will win the Z-Ring, so give it your all! The match begins in three... two... one... begin!" Tapu Koko exclaimed, and thus Pancham immediately charged towards Taiki.

Sensing what Pancham is trying to do, Taiki leapt high, avoiding Pancham's Body Slam. He faced downwards and unleashed a Thundershock, but was immediately countered by Pancham's Dark Pulse, which resulted in a mini-explosion followed by smoke. Taiki landed on the ground and jumped back to distance himself from Pancham. He didn't see Pancham moving out from the smoke, so he used Growl towards the smoke to lower his attack power. Sure enough, when the smoke was cleared, Pancham was within the smoke, for he thought that Taiki was about to launch a surprise attack from the smoke.

Dark Pulses were shot from Pancham's paws. Despite the pulses being quick, only a few were able to get in contact with Taiki's Iron Tail and deflected back towards him. With great agility, he dodged the ricochetted pulses, but he was right into the path of Taiki's Thundershock. With no way to avoid it, the move damaged his entire body. However, he was still standing with a grin on his face.

"Do you really think I would be down that easily?" taunted Pancham, while he dusted some of the dust from his fur. "I'm no longer the Pancham that was easily defeated by your Tail Whip plus Tackle anymore!" Upon hearing that, it was true. Now that Taiki can no longer use Tail Whip, that meant his defence was stronger, and he could take a few more hits before fainting. However, that gave him a cunning, yet bold idea.

"True, true," Taiki replied lazily. "But your attacks are still slow to me. I mean, none was able to hit me, and mine did! Did you made yourself sturdier to make up for your slow attacks?" Hearing this, Pancham's eyes were knitted, and his eyes were blazing with fury. Yep. It still worked, thanks to his ego. Taiki thought.

"OH, YOU STILL THINK IT'S STILL SLOW, HUH?" Pancham exploded, while he darted forward towards Taiki, his paw clenching. "TASTE THIS!" He tried to launch Sky Uppercut, one of his finisher moves, but because he was consumed by anger and rage, he concentrated all of his rage towards the move, making it powerful than normal. Despite this, he did not anticipate that Taiki had already dodged, leaving his charged paw to hit up towards nothing. As quickly as his anger rose, his rational thoughts returned to him in a split second, but it was too late. Just as Pancham had hit the air, Taiki began to focus his electricity into his paw, and he immediately used Thunder Punch towards Pancham's back.

The move connected, sending Pancham skidding onto the ground, and he spun out of control before the ropes of the ring was able to stop the force of Taiki's Thunder Punch from propelling him further. Pancham's face went dark; he was hurt badly but still hadn't been knocked out. He got up to his hind paws with great pain and agony, determined to not let Taiki have his way. With an enraged shout, he focused his remaining energy into his paw and bolted towards Taiki. Taiki was a bit tired from using the move, but he noticed that Pancham had gone all out and used his ultimate move to knock him out. He managed to charge his paw with electricity to counter Pancham's Focus Punch, but it was weaker than before, while the Focus Punch was in full swing.

Both paws collided, resulting in shockwaves and an explosion that rocked the arena. The smoke was so thick that no one could tell who had won. Joquid and Moray, who was spectating the battle the whole time, had to squint their eyes in order to see any life-forms that remained from the blow. As the smoke cleared a bit, they could see the silhouette of a tail, and then the body itself. Finally, the dust and smoke were cleared completely, everyone saw the body of a Pikachu, ridden with dust over his fur and his paw slightly red from the attack. Pancham however, laid on the ground with his eyes closed, his body full of red marks.

"Here it is, Pokémon of Estoria Town! The winner is... a Pikachu!" Tapu Koko announced, her arms lifted up in excitement and her face filled with glee. The cheers and hoots of the spectating Pokémon are so loud that it could even be heard from Mount Kinablak. Joquid and Moray were equally excited, for their friend had finally won against Pancham. "Well done, Taiki!" Joquid cheered, his wings flapping non-stop. "It's rather quick, but I could feel the intensity of the battle, so congrats!" Moray congratulated.

As soon as the last Challenge had been completed, Tapu Koko allowed everyone to gather around, for she wanted everyone to watch the Z-Ring being handed to Taiki as well as the Z-Crystal. Pancham however, was now fully awake thanks to the Reviver Seed given from the medic and had to watch the result of his defeat. After Taiki and the other competitors grabbed their stuff from their respective boxes, they headed towards the middle of the arena. Taiki wore his favourite scarf while he was on the way towards the center.

Tapu Koko floated around Taiki, who had been finished being healed by the consumption of an Oran Berry. "Pikachu, congratulations on winning... the Z-Ring Competition!" Everyone applauded, except for Pancham, who just glared angrily at Taiki. "Now, for your prize, here is the Z-Crystal that is needed to activate your Z-Move. Remember: it can only be used during crucial times, for it recharges slowly." She handed a yellow, diamond-shaped crystal with a lightning bolt on it. Taiki accepted the crystal gratefully and stored it into his bag. "Now, for the Z-Ring. Here you go-" She showed the Z-Ring before something happened.

As fast as lightning, a figure was seen jumping towards Tapu Koko, and when it landed, it bolted towards the exit of the arena. When Tapu Koko looked at her hand, the Z-Ring was missing. Someone had stolen it!

Taiki, who had seen Pancham disappeared before she showed the Z-Ring to him, ran with all fours towards the direction where the thief had gone. Tapu Koko immediately levitated above the crowd's heads and followed Taiki, for she thought that he may know where the thief may have gone into. And she was right, for when he stopped, he was facing a black and white Pokémon that was pounding on the arena's gates that were locked.

With great agility, Tapu Koko charged towards Pancham to retrieve the ring, but Pancham sent a dozen of Dark Pulses while he ran towards Taiki, focusing the energy on his paw as he ran. In spite of the danger, Taiki hardened his tail to become iron and swang it towards Pancham while avoiding his charged-up paw. Pancham was knocked back with a thud, and the ring that he held was released, now in mid-air. Taiki jumped and retrieved the ring before he quickly deposited it to prevent Pancham from stealing it again.

As soon as Pancham got up, he growled with anger towards Taiki. "Fine! Have your little ring! Just so you know, my group will be stronger than your pathetic ring!" He cast a Dark Pulse to destroy the fences and he escaped towards Protia Forest.

"Well, that was something." Tapu Koko said to Taiki while the Pokémon crowd began to catch up towards them. "I'll keep a lookout towards the Pancham, and his so-called group as well. Such evil cannot stay in this region, not with me around."

"Thanks." was all Taiki could reply.

The crowd began to ask Taiki and Tapu Koko several questions about the thief, but Tapu Koko reassured them that she will eliminate the group that had once ruined Estoria Town, which gave them some relief. The Lucky Star members checked on Taiki for any injuries, and when none were revealed, they hugged Taiki for winning the competition. Heh, Rocky would've liked the group hug. He thought, for Rocky was still under treatment from his last battle. He was conscious, but he was seriously tired, and recover was all he needed. This world... the inhabitants here are so caring towards each other... I'm lucky to be here. Nothing can spoil this moment. He sighed, while he hugged back Joquid and Moray.

...

...

"Sir, the amulets are ready and the portal is set to go."

The professor showed the amulets and the portal to Darkoir back in Taiki's universe. The portal, which the professor constructed based on Taiki's leftover blueprints, is now activated. The purple aura glowed within the portal was the sign it was truly complete at last.

"Good. Call the three generals that I've mentioned to come here." Darkoir commanded.

"Rig- Right away, sir." the professor meekly followed his orders.

As the professor left the room to call the generals, Darkoir chucked in a slow, deep tone. Finally, he thought. finally, the portal to different universes has been completed. Now, my plan can be executed...

"Taiki," he said to no one, although it was meant to be for Taiki who was in another universe. "you clever brat. Managed to escape from death itself once again, huh? Well, you'll see the consequences of escaping real soon." Darkoir laughed maniacally. "Why?" He questioned himself before he gave out the answer that would terrify Taiki if he had heard it.

"Because you just brought my reign to other worlds and made my plans in action."


	8. Portals and Darkness

In the grey castle, Darkoir stood in front of the portal, which has a purple aura in its hollow space. He had commanded his 3 worthy generals to come beside him and await his orders. His scientist had followed his command to call the generals who are training Darkoir's troops. A few seconds ticked by before a creak of the door was heard and in came the three generals. Darkoir turned around to face them.

There are two male generals, named Hoeif and Kasib, both at the same height and looked like worn but sturdy generals, judging by the many scars from their faces and arms and their worn iron armour that had iron patches at certain areas. Another was a female general, named Seqia, but she is not a girl to look down to. She had witnessed many battles during the conquering of Darkoir, and she even volunteered to help his brothers in battle. Her lack of scars make up for her precise, deadly arrows, for she is the only general that wields an enchanted bow that has a Power V enchantment, Unbreaking III, and Punch II. She always defends her brothers with her arrows, and in turn, they attack anything that was close to her. As such, the three generals were nicknamed, "Generals of the Storm".

The three generals kneeled and bowed down to their leader. "What may be your command, undefeatable leader?" Hoeif asked, although he had a feeling that he knows what they will be doing next, for he had seen the activated portal.

"I have a task for you three," Darkoir replied slowly, his voice as deep as the void. "Do you all remember the boy, who've escaped my clutches?"

"Yes we do, sir. We had understood that he had evaded your rule and hid in his own base underneath the desert. Was he killed in action, your highness?" Hoeif replied as he kept his voice steady. He is just as terrified as many people would have, and if he had replied something that would upset Darkoir, only fate would've known his condition.

"Who is he talking about?" Seqia whispered while she turned her head towards Kasib, but her eyes still gaze towards Darkoir. "Didn't I already tell you? It's Taiki, the one who'd burrowed underneath the camp." He whispered as quiet as he could, not wanting to anger their leader. She gave a subtle nod before she turned her head towards Darkoir again.

"That, at least, was what I've thought." Darkoir shook his head in disappointment. "He has yet again, evaded death. You three aren't training your soldiers well enough. Out of the 100 soldiers sent, only 51 remained alive and well. The other 49 had perished under his blade."  
Both of the three generals shuddered, unknown what Darkoir may do next. The numbers were horrifying, for Darkoir wanted his troops to be at the utmost while keeping themselves alive for the next attack, so the loss of 49 soldiers could mean that Darkoir may punish the generals.

"Sir, please have mercy. We've done all we could teach. Your supreme skill is a formidable skill, yet we could not harness it as you do. Enchantment Wave is the skill we're still trying to learn, but they couldn't-" Seqia tried her best to sound as reasonable as possible, but she was cut off by Darkoir.

"Stop." As quick as an Ender Rush, she stopped. The three generals' eyes were showing signs of mercy, but Darkoir ignores them. "That is why I need you three to do something else for me. As a chance for your mistakes."

They wanted to sigh of relief, but they didn't dare to do that with Darkoir around. "Thank you for your mercy... but what is the task?" Kasib asked.

"See the portal?" Darkoir pointed with his finger towards the lit portal.

"Within the portal is him, in another universe. Kill him, along with the inhabitants in that universe as well. Did the professor gave you instructions and the device?"

Remembering that when the professor asked them to head towards the room while giving them a book of their own and a blocky device with some redstone machinery inside, the three nodded their heads. "Good," Darkoir nodded as well, his tone slightly deep this time. "Now, off you go. I recommend you three to read to understand the rules within that universe. Oh and, one of you should be the important creature that was written in the book." He commanded.  
Wasting no time, they saluted their general while bowing down again. "Sir, yes sir!" Then, they immediately went through the portal.

"Do not fail me. His power is not to be looked down upon..." He muttered to himself. With the generals gone, he turned around to exit the room, for now, it is time to train the soldiers so they can finally learn Enchantment Wave.

...

...

"Ah-achoo!" Taiki covered his nose while he sneezed.   
  
It has been 2 days ever since Taiki won the Z-Ring competition. However, upon receiving it, Taiki does not understand how to use it; he tried to attach the Z-Crystal with it, said a command, or anything that he could think of, which none of them worked. Sadly though, by the time he asked for help from Tapu Koko the next day, she with her team of Pokémon had left the town.

"Taiki, are you okay?" Rocky asked while he watched Taiki that was wiping his nose. The whole team gathered in their headquarters to figure out how to activate the Z-Ring that Taiki had won, but no one had used a Z-Ring before, so they too were at a loss.

"I'm fine, but it's not chilly, so I don't know why I'm sneezing that often," Taiki replied, while he continued to figure out a solution to this ring that is like an enigma to him. There are no buttons, no instruction panels, nothing that came with the prize. Taiki even considered going to Mount Kinablak to ask Wickyu for some help, but he felt that it would be a waste of time. After all, they had to help out to work on the second path of Estoria Town.

"Maybe someone mentions you. Who knows, maybe it's a Buneary that you haven't met yet..." Joquid joked, although he then chuckled on his own while slipping out of focus about the conversation. He soon daydreamed about being with the Pokémon before he was awakened by Moray with a weak Water Pulse. Taiki just looked at Joquid with his head tilted, before giving a nervous chuckle.

Moray gave a sigh while he wiped his mouth. "Honestly, let's forget about activating it for now. Who knows, maybe you do and potentially obliterate our headquarters." He suggested before giving out a yawn. "Yeah, might be for the best. Sorry, Taiki." Rocky agreed. Taiki sighed, for the power of the Z-Ring is still tempting to uncover, but he knew that work still has to be done. Everyone stood up from their chairs and got out from their base.

The sight of the completed and beautiful road gave them a good mood, for after a week of building, planning, and decorating, the first road is officially done, and the buildings around them are now inhabited by various Pokémon. In spite of different varieties of shops had been opened for business, the team only visited the Kecleon brother's shop for berries and seeds, and even some orbs that they found useful.

Now that the second road is in progress, the first phase is to clear out the rubble caused by Pancham and his group. Now that Taiki was able to use Iron Tail, the massive, tons of debris had been diminished and sent towards a nearby storage area. Some Pokémon volunteered to sweep the now cleared road, with the Lucky Star members as well. With the combined efforts, they managed to clear out any remaining rubble that may give some Pokémon an uncomfortable walk.

The team went towards the first road, now called Lucky Road as a remembrance to the team that started the mission, to rest and plan out any activities they wanted to do. Rocky suggested to check out the Request Board for some rescuing and exploring, in which everyone agreed.

They walked towards the wooden board, looking at the papers that are stuck with pins. They are trying to find a request that's near Estoria Town, where there's bound to have more chances of finding any lost villagers. After some searching, they couldn't find any, but there is one in particular that was the closest, and it was Geyser Pit, home to water-type Pokémon and their magnificent geysers that spurt water as tall as a regular building, which was a sight to behold.

As Taiki plucked out the pin to collect the certain request, he heard some flapping on his right, but when he turned to look, he saw no one, although the flapping persists. He looked up at the sky, and saw a bird-like Pokémon flying towards the board with not-so-great mobility. Seeing the situation, he remembered that this particular Pokémon had knocked him out, so he backed off in case it's going to crash land again.

Despite the struggle to fly in a straight line, he managed to get on the ground with a bag filled with papers on tow.   
"Oh man... it's already bad that the winds are unpredictable... now with my injured wing, I don't think I can fly without bumping anyone." Rowlett sighed, while he began to clutch his right wing. Rocky took out an Oran Berry from his bag and gave it to Rowlett, who just glared at it curiously. "Here, you can take it." Rocky said, his paw motioning Rowlett to take it. Rowlett gave a small smile and replied with "Thanks, Riolu" while he munched on the berry. "Uh... no problem." Rocky replied, as Rowlett's red mark on his wing dissolved.

"I see you guys had chosen a request. Can you give it to me? I need to confirm it so others won't accidentally take yours by mistake." Rowlett asked, his wing extended towards Taiki so he can grab the request. Not knowing how it works, he reluctantly gave it to Rowlett. He gave a quick "Thanks" and grabbed a metal object that looked like some sort of scanner from his bag.

He pressed a button underneath it and a red light was beamed towards the paper. He dragged it from top to bottom, and once it reached the bottom line of the paper, the red light turned into green. After he did the scan, Rowlett gave back the paper to Taiki.

His mood lightened after the whole process. "Thanks! Now that the request is confirmed, Pelipper would know that I'm actually doing my job!" He smiled, his aura of happiness beaming for them to see. "That's great, Rowlett. By the way, do you have a name?" Taiki asked.

"The name's Rowley, but I have to go soon! If not, I may face the wrath of Pelipper... she tends to get mad when work isn't being done..." His body trembled when he answered. "Yikes... even the memory of being shouted at is still fresh... well, I better go!"

Rowlett then let out a huge flap to push him upwards, before flapping continuously and headed to Pelipper HQ.

Taiki looked at Rowlett getting smaller as he flew, then he looked at the rest, which just gave a smirk.

"He's um... something, isn't he?" Moray stated, and then he gave himself a short, low chuckle. "Yeah... anyways, let's head to Geyser Pit." Taiki replied, as he jerked his head towards the entrance.

"Moray, are you gonna come? I mean, you kept choosing to stay at the village. Wanna try exploring a dungeon for once?" Taiki asked, since after Moray's little fiasco during the competition, where he was really bad during the Battle Challenge. Moray lowered his head, his eyebrows knitted. Then, he shook his head with a crestfallen face.

"Nah... I couldn't even fight well in the competition... fighting is not my forte... but I had leadership is to make up for it."

"Or maybe your jokes." Rocky teased.

"Shut up. Just go save some townsfolk, I'll keep an eye out for Pancham... speaking of which, we should know his name by now."

"Eh, not like it's important, but okay. Be safe if he attacks, alright?"

"You got it. I'll do my best."

With a nod from Rocky, he, Taiki, and Joquid exited the village, and then headed north towards Geyser Pit. It was a few minutes worth of walk, so they arrived at the rocky landscape, with gaping holes that are partially filled with boiling water. After reading the sign that indicates that even a place like this is a Mystery Dungeon, they headed in, hoping to find anyone.

Some Water-type Pokémon such as Mudkip and Poliwrath, being hostile Pokémon like any Pokémon that lived in Mystery Dungeons, attacked the team, but luckily Water-type isn't any of their weakness. In fact, Taiki has an advantage over Water-types, since he is an Electric-type. Thus, Taiki mainly used Thundershock and Thunderpunch to deal with the hostile Pokémon, with Joquid and Rocky taking care of the rest.

Right at the fifth floor, when Taiki was batting against a Squirtle, Taiki felt as if his tired body suddenly began to be energized for no reason. He had no idea what that meant, but he ignored it and used Thundershock towards the hostile Squirtle, or so he thought it was a Thundershock.

Instead of being a thin, web-like lightning, the electric coming out from Taiki's red cheeks was thick and straight. The attack connected, and the Squirtle was having spasms of electric, a sign of being paralysed.

Rocky withdrew his paw, concentrated his aura into it, and extended to execute the move Force Palm towards Squirtle. The Pokémon was knocked back and landed onto the ground with a thud, with its eyes closed, a sign of being fainted.

Taiki touched his cheeks to feel the tremendous electric energy that it had released. "Never thought you had managed to launch Thunderbolt already, dude." Joquid asked, noticing the move he had done just now.

"Lucky you. I have no idea when we're getting move upgrades." Taiki, not knowing how to respond, just shrugged in response, but within him he was excited for an upgrade from his Thundershock.

On the tenth floor of the dungeon, they found a group of Pokémon huddling themselves, their faces white with fear. Their bodies had burn marks and scratches, quite possibly from the hostile Pokémon that were in the area. When they saw the members of Lucky Star, they were mortified, and their bodies shook weakly for their faces were pale with bags under their eyes.

Taiki, Rocky, and Joquid approached them with their paws and wings raised up. "We're not here to hurt you, I promise! We are the Lucky Star, dedicated to help Pokémon in need!" Rocky announced towards the frightened Pokémon. They felt relaxed, and some gave out a quiet cheer, as help had finally arrived. Taiki reached out some food from his bag to be given towards the Pokémon, Joquid scouted behind them in case of enemy Pokémon while Rocky explained everything about Estoria Town and everything that had happened so far. "Thanks for the help, Rocky... we certainly missed that town." a Psyduck from the crowd thanked him. Rocky's face blushed.  
  
"Um... it's not just me. They helped as well, so thank them too." Rocky corrected him.

Once they were all fed, their faces lit up, but it still showed some signs of pain, quite possibly from the wounds. "They need medical treatment. We better go back to Estoria Town as soon as possible." Joquid impatiently implored Taiki and Rocky. They nodded, and thus they went towards the exit of the dungeon, not stopping to admire the geysers that just spurted boiling water towards the air. Just as Taiki was a step closer to the entrance, he had heard a faint, weak voice from his left.

"Help... someone help..."

It was a female voice, but it doesn't help that they had missed someone else. Without any hesitation, he called out to Rocky and Joquid, who were a bit far ahead from where he stood.  
  
"Guys! There's someone else we've missed!"

The sounds of footsteps had gotten louder as Rocky immediately bolted from the exit and faced Taiki. Joquid on the other paw, just stood there impatiently, since the rescued townsfolk require immediate medical attention.

"We don't have all day! We have to go!" He shouted towards them, hoping that they act fast. He had given them some Oran Berries for them to stay alive, but he had run out of them, and so does Taiki and Rocky.

"We'll go and save that Pokémon! You go back to Estoria Town with the townsfolk for them to get treated!" Rocky declined while he stated a better alternative.

"Are you serious? Rocky, it's just   
another Pokémon, we'll come back for it later!" Joquid hesitantly replied, his eyes darted between his friends and the residents to check on them.

"There's no other choice! You got to go! We'll be fine, I promise!"

"Ugh... Do you think you can just leave a Piplup alone on a rescue mission?"

"You're the most powerful Piplup out there, that's why I believe in you, buddy!"

"...did you really say that so I can be flattered about it? But gee, thanks. I've told you that I'm the most powerful Pip-"

"Just go! It's now or never!"

After that, the sounds of footsteps grew fainter and fainter as Joquid led the townsfolk out from Geyser Pit. Taiki turned around and led Rocky to the source of the whimpering Pokémon, which was on his right.   
They did several turns within the floor they are currently on, until they saw a Pokémon with green fur. The whimpering apparently came from her, since her body rose up and down while it sobbed. "We're here! Don't worry!" Rocky tried to calm it down. When Taiki got a closer look, it was apparently a Snivy, the Grass-type Pokémon. He recalled seeing one from his research book, but not much detail is known about it.

The Snivy looked up with red eyes, indicating that she had cried a bit before. Suddenly, her eyes widened, as if she had met an angel. "Uh... thanks, I guess." She thanked the both of them.

"My name's... Sinorva. I'm uh... from Masuna City. How about you two?" Sinorva asked.

"Estoria Town." Both Taiki and Rocky replied at the same time.

"Estora... Town? The one that had been raided? Wait... how in the world did I got this far...?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Rocky asked, a bit suspicious on her slightly worried tone.

"The distance between the two is hundreds of kilometres... so there's no possible way... unless the portal took me here... She mumbled to herself, deep in thought.

"A...portal? Wait, you mean the Dimensional Portal? Where you use amulets to activate it?" Taiki questioned her, his heartbeat getting a bit faster. Portals aren't a thing in the Pokémon world, so hearing a Snivy talking about a portal led him to wonder if she was a human. However, he decided to play it safe and not ask that question, worrying that she may be offended by it.

"Amulet? Uh... not that I can remember... it was activated when I got here. And at all places, it had to be in a Mystery Dungeon..." She responded with an irritated tone. _Well... that's a relief...? But if it isn't the Dimensional Portal... what else would it be?_ Taiki wondered, since the only portal he had known was his own.

"Well... how about we finish scouting this entire dungeon then? And get a chance to use it while we're there." Rocky suggested. Since both Sinorva and Taiki had no objections, they agreed to his plan.

After Taiki gave Sinorva some Gummis to her, they advanced through the stairs and made sure to look around every floor they are in, while battling enemy Pokémon and collecting items along the way. Since Sinorva was injured, Taiki willed himself to act as a shield to protect her from further attacks, although water attacks aren't effective to her.

Once they had taken down a relatively strong Omastar that is strong against Taiki's electric attacks due to being a Rock-type, they finally reached the last of the dungeon's floor. Upon scouting the floor, the portal finally came into view. It wasn't made out of dark purple and rectangular, like Taiki's portal. Instead, the portal frames coloured in bright red and gold, and it was an oval shape. Within the frames, there's a blue aura which shows that it was activated.

"Um... we better be careful. The moment I entered the portal, it transported me... somewhere else other than here. That's... how I got lost." Sinorva warned them while she pointed at the activated portal. Taiki stared at the portal intensively, trying to find any resemblance with his own portal, but there's none. With a defeated sigh, Taiki said, "It's not like my portal. Never mind, let's take her back... I hope this does bring us there."

The three Pokémon calmly walked into the portal frame, with Sinorva closing her eyes and quietly prayed that it'll take them home. After all, who knows if the portal takes its user to a random place every time they entered it or acts like a door to somewhere else. She trembled at the thought.

As Taiki was the first to enter the portal, he emerged from the other side of the portal to check their locations. He checked his surroundings. There are various kinds of trees around him, yet the sunlight was strong enough to illuminate the forest, making Taiki easier to see. Different kinds of Pokémon were spotted as well, but he had no idea what species they were, for his book had never mentioned them before.

When he looked up, there is a tall building, and judging from its size from his perspective, it's not far.  
Rocky and Sinorva came out from the portal as well. Sinorva opened her eyes, half-expecting to be in the middle of nowhere. What she got, however, was a familiar scene. The same trees. The same bushes. The Pokémon that she could recognize. "Finally... this is the place!" She exalted while she looked around, absorbing the long-lost view that she had lost a while ago. She had no idea how long she was in the dungeon, but for her, it felt like forever.

Taiki and Rocky smiled, for they managed to get Sinorva home unscathed. "Let's get going, shall we? I wanted to check the city for a while." Rocky said, jerking his head towards the building. "Oh, um... alright..." She replied, suddenly becoming a bit quiet while turning towards the building and started to walk there with Rocky. _Guess she's not the social type. Heh, she's almost like me._ Taiki thought, before giving a short chuckle to himself. He too walked along towards the city, feeling a bit curious about how it looks like compared to Estoria Town.

When they got out of the forest, everyone could see how busy it was. Many Pokémon were outside buildings, chatting to each other, some constructed new buildings and used certain moves to make their job easier, while others simply went on with their lives, walking around to certain destinations. Even from the forest, Taiki could only imagine how large the city was... and how many Pokémon that lived there. Rocky was simply dumbfounded, for he had never seen quite large numbers of Pokémon in a place before.

Sinorva simply didn't acknowledge the two Pokémon that just stood there and continued onto her path home. When Taiki was done gazing at the city, he saw her walking towards somewhere, so he beckoned Rocky to snap out of it and follow her.

Upon arriving within the city, the voices from the chatting Pokémon are coming from every direction, which makes Taiki and Rocky hard to even hear themselves think. Taiki and Rocky basically had to cover their ears to prevent ear damage. All of the noise did not bother Sinorva however since she lived in this city longer than those two Pokémon. She was used to the lively yet loud noise.

She walked into an alley, which Taiki thought was strange since a house is certainly unable to fit inside an alley. He gave Rocky a puzzled look, and he did the same to him, unable to understand the situation. However, they simply followed her, a bit curious and concerned about Sinorva's actual home. After a few turns, they came to a dead-end, but from there, they could see her home.

Or rather, it was her tent. Cans were littered on the floor, a burnt fireplace was seen in front of her tent, and there are crates covered in dust, which had a book on top of it. Inside the tent, there is a small sleeping bag and a half-filled water bottle, both covered in dust. Sinorva noticed the dust and simply wiped them off with a piece of cloth that she had found when she entered the city a few minutes earlier. She even wiped off some dirt that covered her green tent.

She went inside the tent to sit down, a grim look across her face. "Come, you can sit here, I guess. There's some room." She sighed, patting the empty space in her tent. Taiki and Rocky went into the tent, trying their hardest to ignore the stench that came from it. They sat down and looked at the tired, gloomy Snivy that was uncomfortable with their presence despite herself calling them to come over.

"Sinorva..." Taiki began to speak, but Sinorva interjected.

"Sorry... it's just that after... after everything that had happened to me... I do not know who to trust." She looked at the interior of her tent, the burnt fireplace, and the cans as well, uncomfortable to make eye contact with the Pikachu and the Riolu.

"Do you want to explain your story? If..." Rocky stopped for a while, unsure whether what he's about to say may hurt her feelings. Sinorva noticed the silence and unsureness from Rocky, so she chimed in, "Sure. I needed it to get off my chest anyway."

"Back before it all happened, I was good friends with a certain Pokémon. I would rather not say his name nor his kind, for I want to forget that brat. When I first met him, he was about to be defeated by another Water-type Pokémon before I intervened and used my Grass-type moves to beat it. After getting to know him better, we did a lot of goofy things together, and before you know it, we were inseparable. He had this trait that lets him manage to plan and command other Pokémon to do group work, so that's why he was always been chosen to become the leader of most projects. "

"When we moved here, he and I were owners of a shop that sold berries called "Berries from Heaven". A lousy name, I know. But we've done well. Many customers bought our paw-grown berries, and they loved it. With his trait as a good planner and my trait as a kind Pokémon, our store had gained popularity."

"But then... a crime was committed. To this day... I could not fully comprehend what was going on at that time. But all I could remember during that terrible incident was 'I saw her did it! She tried to trick us with her kindness!' from him. I could not believe that all this time, he framed me for a crime I did not commit."

Upon saying those sentences, she clenched her paws into fists and slammed then onto the ground. "HE. FRAMED. ME." raged Sinorva, her tears rolling downwards like a waterfall. "How could he... I tried to explain... no one believed me... kicked out of house and home... I was at the lowest point of my life..." She sobbed while she covered her eyes, not willing to look at the members of Lucky Star.

Taiki felt as if it resonated with him. Suddenly, his eyes knitted, and his heartbeat suddenly beating faster, with his chest feeling heavy. He could not explain his feelings, but he could only describe it as fury and justice. The fury is because of the Pokémon, her best and only friend, betrayed her for some reason, and justice, for he wanted to seek the Pokémon and personally beat him up in revenge.

"Who's that Pokémon... if I could find him... I'll make sure that he regrets what he has done to you." Taiki asked furiously, his voice filled with resentment. Rocky noticed the expression from Taiki, thus he lifted his paws up in shock. "Hey, Taiki. There's no need for sudden anger. We'll definitely find him, sooner or later. Save the rage for another time." He tried to calm Taiki down, who had begun to clench his paws.

Taiki didn't want to agree with Rocky at the moment, because he wanted the Pokémon to know how much Sinorva had suffered when he said that. He deserved justice, and that's what Taiki wanted to serve. However, Rocky had a point. The rage needs to be saved for later on. Now, they couldn't do anything about it. "Fine..." he acquiesced.

"Sorry for bringing it up," Sinorva stated upon looking at the sudden rage from Taiki. "I just... wanted you all to know why I act like this. Right now, I'm still considering if friendship is something I should still believe in. It hurts to be used and discarded like a used Reviver Seed, to be regarded as an object for a selfish purpose. I just... don't want that to happen again."

"Look..." Rocky began to object after he was calmed down. Before he was able to reply, a flash of black appeared before his eyes. He squinted his eyes, trying to see the outlines of Sinorva and Taiki in the sudden storm, or at least what he thought was a storm. Despite his efforts, all he could see was pitch black.  
  
Suddenly, a heavy feeling was felt within his chest, his breathing heavy, and he struggled to breathe under the unknown pressure that was within his chest. He clutched his chest to try and bear the pressure, but it had no effect. It wasn't just him, for he could hear panting and heavy breathing in front of him. Negative thoughts suddenly appeared in his mind, thoughts like the end of this world, giving up, or kill lest you be killed. The thoughts kept multiplying, but he tried to stay strong against... whatever the phenomenon that they were facing.

But then, as sudden as the event appeared, it stopped.

Light flooded his eyes, and he could see him in the tent with Taiki and Sinorva again. The pressure from his chest lifted, and he took a deep breath before letting it out. The negative thoughts that swarmed his mind just faded like smoke. All of those happened after he was able to see again.

He looked over at Taiki, and he was relieved to see that he too, survived from whatever that was, but he didn't look like he was out of breath. Instead, he was just confused about what was going on. His puzzled face mirrored Rocky's, for they had never experienced the sensation before.

"What... just happened...?" Rocky faltered, unable to comprehend the event. "I don't know, you two just had trouble breathing while clutching your chests. Are you alright, though?" Rocky nodded.

Suddenly, they heard someone mumbling on their left, and without hesitation, they looked at their left, only to find Sinorva shaking and mumbling to herself while looking at them intensively. Her eyes were slightly red, which in most instances wasn't usually good. Taiki went beside her to check.

"Sinorva, are you okay- ARGHHH!"

Taiki asked before he let out a shriek of fear and horror as Sinorva used her vines to grab Taiki and lifted him outside the tent, and lifted him on mid-air, holding him by the throat. What Sinorva used was a move called Vine Whip, and now she was choking Taiki outside her tent.

...

...

Moments before the incident, a portal some kilometres away from Estoria Town suddenly materialized on the side of a mountain with a blue aura appearing at its frame. It gave off a slight burst of energy before it began to calm down. Then, three figures appeared from the frames of the portal and began to walk out from it.

When they glanced at each other, they were a bit shocked that they weren't in human form, but instead, they are some sort of animals that they hadn't seen before.

"Woah! What... are you?" A female voice blurted. One of the figures raised its paw and smacked another's head before it shook his head. "Seqia, we're now in this... universe. It's called Pokémon."

"Oh. Whoops. Sorry, Hoeif." Seqia replied sheepishly.

"With that being said... how are we gonna get our stuff, since our items will be vanquished the moment they entered this world." Hoeif asked Seqia and the other Pokémon, which was Kasib.

"Well... the professor gave me this bag. He said that whatever items we had brought from our world, they would be protected in this special kind of bag." Kasib answered while he showed his bag for everyone to see.

"Alright. Toss me the bag, will ya." Hoeif asked, in which Kasib obediently threw the bag for him to catch.

He opened the lid to grab a book that   
the professor had given them, and read it so they can understand what they are. "So... based on your orange body with a tail with flame, you're a... Charmander, Kasib. You..." He pointed at Seqia next. "You have a purple body with two gems as eyes... you're... Sableye." Seqia looked at herself before touching the gems that were her eyes. She was a bit giddy and weirded out that she's now a Pokémon. "And I am..." Hoeif continued while he checked his body for any details that he could point out. "Oh, I'm Dragonite. No wonder I'm a bit huge and looked like a dragon.   
Unfortunately, our leader requested us to be a Pokémon like no other. Well... I say we'll go along with the flow, for now."

"Alright, so what does the device do?" Hoeif asked his brother, Kasib, while he dug out the device from the bag.

"We're supposed to activate it. The professor said it'll do something towards the Pokémon, although I am not certain its effects. It recharges slowly by sunlight, so we should use it once it's done."

Hoeif nodded, and thus he pushed the red button that was on the device. Suddenly, he heard some distorted, glitching-like sounds from the device. It lasted for a couple of seconds before the sounds eventually faded away.

"Now, the damage... whatever that   
was, is done. We gotta use it frequently to make our job easier." Kasib stated.

"Ok, so now what? What should we do while it recharges?" Seqia asked his brother, her head tilted in an angle.

"I suppose we can establish a base first. Then, we'll gather supplies and figure out our next move later."

With that being said, the three generals, now transformed into Pokémon, headed into the nearby forest, ready to find a place to make their base. What they hadn't realized is what the device had actually done to every single Pokémon in the world.

...

...

"Si...Sinorva! It's me, Taiki! Snap out... hrrk... of it!" Taiki choked while he tried to loosen the grip from Sinorva's Vine Whip. He had half a mind to use a move in order to free himself, but he doesn't want to hurt her. Time seemed to slow down as his breath was getting shallower, his face became blue.

From below, Rocky repeatedly shook her violently, trying to wake her up, but her face was as if she's in a rage, wanting the Pokémon that she choked to quickly lose its last breath.

_Wait... Iron Tail!_ Taiki managed to think despite lacking enough oxygen for his thoughts began to fade and became unclear. With his last strength, he concentrated his energy onto his tail, imagined it to become iron. His tail turned to iron, and he swung it towards Sinorva's Vine Whip to cut it off. He fell with a massive thump and took a deep, huge breath, a bit relieved that he managed to set himself free. However, that was the least of his problems.

Now that her Vine Whip was cut, she took out her rage onto Rocky, who suddenly stopped shaking her when she looked at him with rage. His instincts kicked in and jumped outside the tent while he stayed beside Taiki who is still recovering.

Engulfed with unexplained rage, she launched a green Energy Ball towards both of them. They managed to dodge it, leaving the ball hit the walls.

"Sinorva! Stop doing this! We just wanted to help you!" Taiki exclaimed, his eyes full of concern and fear towards the Snivy, who is mustering her energy for another grass move.

"You... you left me! Why do you frame me, huh? I did nothing to you! We used to be friends! WHY? WHY WOULD YOU DO SUCH A HORRIBLE STUNT?" She snarled before releasing a tornado containing sharp leaves, also known as Leaf Tornado.  
As agile as they were, they managed to dodge the tornado, but they weren't able to evade the sharp leaves when it began to disperse. While they regrouped, they were confused about Sinorva's statement. They weren't the Pokémon that betrayed her, so why did she attack them?

"Wait a minute. Taiki, quick question. Did you see pitch-black just now? Or have some sort of pressure and bad thoughts?" Rocky quickly asked Taiki before dodging another Energy Ball that Sinorva had cast.

Realizing that's what they had felt before, he replied with, "No. Why? Do you think it's connected to her aggressive actions?"

"It couldn't be a coincidence, right?"  
  
"Maybe. But what do you want me to do?" Taiki asked, just before a Leaf Blade barely missed him by a few centimetres.

"Try to be the Pokémon and apologize! I think in her point of view, you are the Pokémon that caused all of this. That's probably why she's being aggressive towards you!"

Taiki's eyes narrow at him in disbelief. It was bad enough that he absolutely hated that Pokémon, up until the point where he wanted to personally defeat him for the sake of Sinorva, but now he had to pretend to be that Pokémon and help him apologize.

"You're kidding, right." He replied.

"Unless you want to fight her, and you know that none of us are willing to."

"Fine... not that I can do much anyways..."

Feeling a bit awkward for pretending to be her old friend, he swallowed and bit his lip as he walked towards Sinorva, who had her eyes widened, eyebrows knitted in anger. He was at a comfortable distance where he can easily dodge if needed.

"Sinorva... I'm sorry." Taiki awkwardly 'apologized' towards Sinorva. Alright, you can do this... um... I guess I should continue... "I was in a... very dire situation. There are Pokémon that threatened to hurt us, but you know that I wanted to protect our shop. So... I had no choice but to do so..."

Sinorva's eyes widened, this time with shock and awe. Her jaw dropped, not expecting a sudden response from her long lost friend. She did not respond, but it was clear that she wasn't angry, nor was she in a state of rage. Before she could say anything, Taiki continued.

"I wanted to protect you. I couldn't bear to see you got hurt because of some... dumb Pokémon trying to overtake us. Would you... forgive me, Sinorva? I wanted us to be..."

"Best. Friends."

In a blink of an eye, she ran towards Taiki, her eyes covered in tears, and hugged him fiercely. Sobs were heard, her body shaking as she cried repeatedly. "I'm sorry..." she sobbed, covering her head on Taiki's shoulder. "I hated you... but I didn't know that... I missed you..." She mumbled, words deafened.

All of a sudden, she lifted her head from Taiki's shoulder, her eyes suddenly furrowed. She looked at who she's been hugging, and was shocked to see that it was Taiki. She stammered, before skipping backwards, her face blushing in embarrassment. Taiki snapped out of his trance, and realized that Sinorva was in clear thoughts again, knowing that she had hugged him, made him feel red as well.

Rocky just stood there covering his mouth, trying his hardest not to laugh. When Taiki looked at Rocky, his face became hotter in embarrassment, before he gave off a small jolt towards Rocky, which led him to a sudden shock. "Ow, ow! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Rocky yelped, clutching his arm in pain.  
  
"I uh... what had happened?" Sinorva asked, unsure what had happened. "Suddenly, I saw black and felt a terrible pressure from my chest and the next thing I know, I'm hugging this Pikachu."

"It's Taiki." Taiki corrected her.

"Sorry, Taiki. Well... I don't know why... but I remembered meeting him... and he apologized. About everything. I think it was a dream, but I remember fighting him in rage, but then the words he had said... I couldn't stay mad forever."

Taiki and Rocky looked at each other, before giving themselves a smirk. Taiki looked at Sinorva, who was now having trouble to maintain eye contact with him and Rocky. "Well... it's okay. He apologized, you apologized. Now, there's no need for hatred. I'm sure that he'll come back to check on you someday." he reassured her while patting at her shoulders. Taiki did not have the courage to tell her the truth, for he wanted her to be happy and not worry about her old friend.

"Speaking of which... do you want to join our team? I can assure you that we'll provide you a bed and shelter." Rocky proposed, before he was smacked on the shoulder by Taiki, who gave him an annoyed glare.

"What? She definitely deserves better than here!" Rocky reasoned.

"It's okay, besides, I wanted to wait for him. I'll suffer, sure, but I'll live."

"Alright. Just remember to let us know if you need anything, okay? I bet that Dimensional Portal will stay open forever." Taiki implied, giving off a smirk.

"Dimensional Portal? What do you mean?" Both Sinorva and Rocky asked, while they tilted their heads in confusion.

"What? It's the portal we've came out a few hours ago. It's a fitting name, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I guess. Still, Sinorva... can we um... be friends? I know you're still trying to get over your old friend, but you can count on us. We'll definitely help if you asked." Rocky asked, unsure if she is still open to friendships after the little fiasco. She thought about it for a while, before shyly agreed.

"Yeah... I'll give it one more shot. Thanks, you two."

"Alright, best of luck! We'll be going home for now, it's getting late. See you!" Taiki responded, and with that being said, the two Pokémon walked outside from the ally. They got to venture through the loudness and amazing sights of the city for a while, before they decided that they had to be home before night falls. Thus, they went into the forest, and went through the Dimensional Portal.

What they didn't expect, however, is the fact that the portal is located at the very top of Geyser Pit, and they were transported right at its final floor. Both of them groaned as they went down through each floor without energy to spare while constantly fighting off hostile Pokémon in order to go back home.

However, just when they got out from Geyser Pit, they saw a bright light from Estoria Town, despite the fact that it's already night time. Smoke can be seen from their air where the town stood. They even heard faint sounds of screaming and moves being cast towards the dark skies. Taiki and Rocky gulped in fear, for they had no idea what awaits them back at town.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


.


	9. The Raid

After the encounter with Sinorva, Taiki and Rocky went back to Estoria Town, only to find out that smoke had risen from the town, moves being cast in every direction, with screams filling the silent darkness. 

“Come on, let’s go!” Taiki commanded, his eyes widened. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew for a fact that someone had invaded their town. He remembered that someone would come back for revenge, but he was too shocked and fearful that he had no time to ponder about it.

In an instant, Rocky and Taiki ran with the wind towards the town. Once they had arrived with their heart beating fast and them taking quick, short breaths, they saw some of the townsfolk casting certain moves towards the other Pokémon. Moves of various elements were cast at each other, and the directions were so random that Taiki and Rocky almost got hurt by a Pokémon’s move, Ember.

When they got a better, closer look at their targets, they soon realized that they are fighting against the other townsfolk. The ones on their side had their eyes wide opened, unable to comprehend what was going on as they repeatedly dodged while casting moves towards the other townsfolk. One of the townsfolk shouted, “Why are you fighting? Snap out of it! We’re not your enemies!” but to no avail, for they didn’t respond to the statement and continued to fight back.

Realizing that the fighting won’t lead them anywhere and the desire for answers about the situation growing, Rocky darted in front of them towards the middle and held out both of his paws in front of the Pokémon that are still attacking them, forming a blue, semicircle shield that blocked the incoming moves. It was the move Protect. Unfazed, they continued to fire, while Rocky firmly held out both of his paws, not letting his Protect shield to fall. While he shielded the attacks, he used the opportunity to ask the Pokémon behind him that caught their breath from attacking.

“Can you guys explain what’s going on?”

“We have no idea. While you two went somewhere else, we could only see black for no reason. It wasn’t night; if it were, we should be able to see the outlines of our paws. When that happened, a heavy pressure appeared on our chests. It was almost unbearable until we could see light again.” Jatils, one of the townsfolk who attacked against the tranced townsfolk replied.

“Jatils and I discussed the phenomenon that happened, but suddenly the other townsfolk, the ones we barely knew each other, attacked us for no reason. We tried reasoning, just like what we did just now, but they didn’t snap out of it.” Another Pokémon replied although Rocky did not remember its name.

“It’s the same incident back in Masuna City!” Taiki interjected for he recalled the incident that is surprisingly similar and accurate to their description. Some of the other townsfolk began to switch targets and launched moves towards Taiki, in which he began to dodge and weave. After he used Thunderbolt towards them, some of them were paralyzed, which meant fewer moves to be dodged.

“We could use the same plan from before, but we barely know them! What should we do?” Rocky asked Taiki with a concerned face, sweat running down his head as he tried to hold on from the attacks with his Protect. The shield had large web-like cracks, indicating its durability before being destroyed.

“I suppose we should knock them out. We don’t have a choice!” Taiki answered despite it wasn’t his brightest idea to calm the attackers. However, they had no way to know them better, and besides, they need to get it over with quick to help the other townsfolk.

“Alright then!” Rocky and the townsfolk behind him agreed.

As soon as Rocky’s Protect faded, the townsfolk immediately released their strongest moves towards the other townsfolk, as well as Taiki and Rocky. As the moves were headed in the same direction, they spiraled with each other, emitting a bright, white smoke behind them like a comet. The move collided with the Pokémon, causing a massive explosion that rocked the ground, shaking and tumbling everyone, except for the Pokémon that were hit, for they have already fainted before the ground shook.

Taiki and the rest panted, but he and Rocky didn’t want to stop and recover. Instead, they wanted to help the townsfolk that was still battling the bewitched-looking townsfolk. Moves after moves were cast, and by the time they were all fainted, the rest of the surviving townsfolk along with Taiki and Rocky collapsed onto the ground from exhaustion. Deep breaths can be heard around town as they panted and tended to their wounds from the battle.

Fortunately, no fatal nor serious damage was inflicted during the attack, however, due to the moves being cast in every direction, some parts from buildings were either detached, had cracks, or destroyed. The pathway was covered in ash, water, remnants of Grass-Type moves and cracks. Overall, the town wasn’t completely destroyed, but it was messy.

Despite feeling like he’s being completely drained out of energy from a Mega Drain, Rocky stood up to face the crowd who had a similar condition to his. “Alright, guys. I know we all are tired, but let’s put the fainted Pokémon into a temporary house or two.” He said wearily while he gave a short yawn before he continued. “In spite of attacking us, they are still townsfolk. I’ll provide details tomorrow. Let’s get this done and sleep to our heart’s content.”

Although they wanted to immediately sleep, no one argued with Rocky and followed his orders. Some Pokémon were so heavy that it required a certain amount of villagers to carry it to a suitable home. By the time everyone was finished, they immediately went to their own respective houses, grateful that they could sleep as long as they needed to.

When Taiki and Rocky stepped into their headquarters, they saw Joquid already sleeping in his own hay bed and Moray flattening his own. He noticed the two with his two dark eyes.

“Hey. What a day, huh.” He said somnolently before lying on his bed.

“Yeah. Had a bit of trouble with a Snivy, but she was fine.” Taiki replied as he walked towards the couch and landed his entire body onto it with a flop. 

Moray’s eyes widened a bit, but he quickly pretended that he didn’t say anything. 

“Her case was similar to this. But for some reason, I didn’t turn to whatever she was, as well as the other townsfolk. You felt it too, right?” Rocky implied when he collapsed at his own hay bed. Moray looked up onto the ceiling for a while, not responding to his question, his bottom lip jutting out.

“Moray?” He asked Moray again, this time with a tone of concern.

“Huh? Oh, sorry. I’m a bit tired after all of that battling.” Moray responded sleepily. “I definitely felt it. The sudden absence of light, the unknown yet powerful pressure on my chest, and then the return of light. The next thing I knew, was some of the townsfolk fighting against others.”

“Guys. We got a big day tomorrow.” Taiki sighed groggily while he closed his eyes in annoyance. “Let’s talk about it tomorrow, just like what you had said.”

“Fair enough. Good night, everyone.” Rocky agreed wearily before his head fell towards the hay and soon went into a deep sleep. Moray simply nodded in response and slept as well.

While the three Pokémon slept with the sounds of snoring present in the atmosphere, Taiki just laid there, not attempting to sleep just yet. His body was physically drained out of energy, but his mind was filled with questions. _Why did it happen? What caused it? Why am I not affected, despite the fact that I'm a Pokémon myself? Was it because I’m a human as well? Why do I have a bad, concerning feeling about this, as if something is about to happen... _Thoughts like this kept him awake.

_Hmm… Jirachi did warn me about it. I’m here to stop… whatever the phenomenon was, but how? I have yet to find out what caused it!_ He was slightly annoyed as he thought about his purpose. Throughout his time here, he was given more questions than answers, and all of them led him to even more questions. _Maybe… I should sleep early. Who knows, maybe Jirachi can shed some light onto my dark path._

Soon enough, he shook his head to get rid of the questions that had been stuck on his mind and turned to face nothing but the couch before drifting into a deep sleep.

…

…

Unfortunately for Taiki, Jirachi did not appear in his dreams. It was a disappointment for him since he wanted to know what was going on, and why it happens. Although he was in a bad mood the moment he woke up, he shook it off, reassuring himself that Jirachi can’t just appear by his wishes. He rubbed his eyes to prepare for a new day while he yawned.

Inside the headquarters, Rocky snored as he slept on his bed made out of hay with injuries slowly healing from yesterday’s events. Moray sat on a wooden chair reading a book with a dozen of them on a table, implying that he had a lot to read for some reason. Joquid wasn’t in the building, which led to Taiki believe that he is probably working on rebuilding from the damage the out-of-trance Pokémon did. 

“Ah, Taiki. Good morning.” Moray said while he put down his book to acknowledge Taiki’s awakening. 

“Good… morning. What are you reading? That’s… a lot of books.” He replied with a tired tone, his mind a bit sluggish from waking up.

“I’m doing some research on the phenomenon yesterday since no one has any knowledge about it.” Moray replied, nudging his head towards the stack of books neatly piled up on the table. When Taiki didn’t give a response, his gaze returned to the book and continued his research.

Once Taiki had gotten up onto his hind paws, he walked towards the door to exit, for he wanted to clean up the mess from yesterday. Even before he opened the door, muffled voices of a crowd can be heard, and it seemed that there was a commotion, for shouts of anger and worried tones of denial can be heard.

Taiki opened the door and the first thing he saw was some Pokémon using their paws to punch the other Pokémon who raised their fists to cover their faces from getting hit. The rest gathered around both groups, paws over their mouths as they witnessed the situation. Alarmed, Taiki jumped right out from the headquarters with his eyes widened and dashed towards the middle of the fight, pushing away both groups. “Stop! Whatever that was going on, fighting isn’t the solution!” He looked at both groups of Pokémon who aren’t looking at Taiki but at each other. The attacking group gave harsh, hard glares towards the other, who just stood back, shocked about their actions.

The attacking group pushed harder against Taiki’s will, causing him to skid slowly towards the frightened group, dust particles coming off from his hind paws. Determined to stop them from causing more harm, he pushed them hard enough to stagger back, despite the fact that their eyes are glowing with rage, their paws clenched, ready to fight. Taiki realized that they won’t be reasoned with if he doesn’t act right away, but what should he do? Fight back? It would cause an outrage. Defend the other group with his life? That would cause him more harm than needed. 

With no other options left from his mind, he finally asked the enraged group, “Wait! Why are you all angry about, especially in this early morning?” in hopes to distract them from the group.

Suddenly, it was as if he was the sun of the solar system, as everyone just focused at Taiki, the Pikachu who would stand up against the furious group. The group just looked at him, their faces showed disbelief that he would do such a thing, even after what he and his friends had done to the village. “You clearly know what’s going on, Pikachu.” A Pokémon from the group yelled. Others chimed in as well to show their outburst and rage towards him.

“Yes, I do know about it! But, what did they do? They aren’t attacking, are they? They’re now normal, just like we all do!”

“But they don’t remember anything?!” raged another Pokémon from the crowd.

  
“That’s the same incident we had back in Masuna City, which is when my friend had started to attack us, before I managed to calm her down. She had no recollection about everything. I have no doubts that this is the same.” replied Taiki while his face was kept still this whole time, showing no doubts about his statement.

“How would you prove it? You could just make up a story to defend them! Everyone could do the same thing!” howled the Pokémon again from the crowd. The rest of the Pokémon from the group shouted in anger, agreeing to the Pokémon’s statement.

“I’ll let you know it’s true.” a deep sounding Pokémon replied.

All eyes turned to the Pokémon in blue, who seemed like he wore a mask and relatively taller than some Pokémon, including Taiki. He smiled at both Taiki and the outraged group with a smirk, his face filled with confidence. “Sherman?” Taiki was about to question before Sherman gently cut him off by raising his paw.

“I’ve read through the entire history books, and I can conclude that this has never happened before. But, what I do know is a Pokémon from Masuna City tried to attack Taiki and Rocky, according to my Aura, but she managed to get a hold of herself. Thus, I can say that Taiki here isn’t faking his story.” Sherman explained, his face giving off a polite grin.  
  
  


“Besides,” He continued. “Those Pokémon aren’t even attacking you guys, so what difference does it make if you’re now attacking them? Does that make you a bad Pokémon as well?”

“I… um…” every single Pokémon from the group could not answer the question for it was true. 

Before any of them could respond, there was a shuffle in the crowd of the Pokémon that attacked the townsfolk yesterday. A Pokémon came out from the crowd, his face looked at the ground full of remorse. It looked like a lizard that was red in color, but it was slightly taller than a normal Charmander. It was a Charmeleon. Despite his body shaking in fear, he mustered the courage to look up towards Taiki, Sherman, and the attacking crowd of Pokémon that looked at him. He quavered. “Look, we’re sorry. We may not remember much during the event, but right now we’re conscious about the situation, so I would like to apologize on their behalf. I can assure you that we’ll help, to make up for our unintended mistakes.”

Suddenly, a Pokémon came forward from the attacking group. Taiki and Sherman turned their heads to see who had come out. It was a Pokémon who looked like a red cat with black stripes, but with a muscular build. The Pokémon’s species is an Incineroar. He had a slight frown on his face, indicating he’s feeling guilty about the incident, although he didn’t look timid or even scared about it. He looked at the Charmeleon’s eyes. “It’s fine, I guess…” His voice was as deep as Sherman’s. “We severely misunderstood, and we even injured some of you.” He continued, nudging his head towards the Pokémon who had some bruises from the small attack. However, his eyebrows were knitted a bit and glared intensely towards the opposing group, which made others hard to understand whether he was being genuine or not. “I’m representing the whole group to apologize as well. I hope we can get together well.” He smirked a bit, which lightened the atmosphere.

Both Pokémon that represented their own groups walked towards each other, stared for a few seconds, and finally smiled before shaking their paws. The on-looking townsfolk were overjoyed at the fact that the small situation was finally resolved, with two groups finally becoming friendly towards each other. 

  
Taiki gave out a small breath of relief, being glad that the dispute was finally over. He looked upwards towards the Lucario that helped him to prove his story’s validity with a grin, grateful that he was able to help at the last second. “Thanks a lot, by the way.” He thanked, and Sherman nodded in response. “This situation is certainly intriguing. I’ve never felt such a feeling in my life, even when I was a Riolu. Something bad is going to happen, and I fear the worst, since a human’s arrival meant a catastrophe that could spell doom to this world.”

“I sure hope I wasn’t the cause of all this, though. I came out of coincidence.” worried Taiki. After all, he had come into this universe for a purpose he could not recall, and he sincerely hoped that the phenomenon wasn’t his reason for coming here.

“You weren’t the cause, and you coming here is not a coincidence. It’s all fate. In every legend of this world, if a human appears, an event that would be a catastrophe to this world will be averted. We’re lucky to be alive up until now, but I do worry about our winning streak.” Sherman said, his eyes gazing at the Pokémon who had begun repairing the buildings.

Moray and a half-awake Rocky came out from the headquarters, a worried face plastered on them. When they saw nothing had happened, Rocky asked, “Taiki… what… happened…” before letting off a yawn. 

“A little conflict, nothing much to worry about.”

“Sure hope it doesn’t leave bad emotions. I just finished reading the last book, - and for your information, it didn’t contain anything useful - when suddenly a commotion can be heard. I figured not to butt in so I stayed until it went quiet.” Moray said, his head titled to the side.

“Well, long story short, some attacked the Pokémon that attacked us, despite being conscious to comprehend what was going on. Sherman and I stopped it before it escalated.”

Moray and Rocky nodded, now understood what it was about. Rocky was about to head into the headquarters to wash up when he saw someone flying towards the team. It was Rowley, and he was flapping his wings hard, trying to regain control of his flight, but to no avail.

  
“Look out!!!” Rowley warned them in alarm. His flight path was headed straight towards Taiki, who hasn’t realized his presence. Taiki wasn’t quick enough to dodge him so he took the slam of Rowley’s weight, and was sent of skidding on the floor. By the time he had stopped, he moaned in pain and annoyance. “Rowley, you got… to control your flight…” He said while looking at the sky where some Pokémon flew gracefully and effortless, which caused him to groan even more.

“I’m really sorry, Taiki! But I have news that is important for everyone to hear!” Rowlet gave a quick apologetic nod to Taiki before he faced everyone.

“What was it? A new mission? A rescue?” Rocky asked, being completely wide awake for he was usually excited for a new mission. His eyes glowed as he waited for Rowley’s response.

“It’s not a mission, nor a rescue. In fact, it is a warning… to this town.”

Everyone’s eyes widened as the words left his mouth. Taiki got up and walked towards the group, not wanting to be left out. “What… kind of warning?” Sherman asked, fearing that whatever the warning was, it won’t be pretty. After all, warnings don’t usually bring comfort to others. Rowley hesitated, since he was nervous to spill the beans. “I saw groups of Pokémon… they all looked serious… headed towards town…” He shuddered, his entire body shaking with fear. 

“Oh no… it could be a raid-” Rocky exclaimed, but he was cut off by the sudden explosion from the walls of the town that was near the entrance of the town. A big, dark gray smoke can be seen from there for everyone to be surprised and shocked. Rubble were seen scattered near the explosion, and there was a wide gap in between the fractured walls. From the gap, a group of Pokémon wrapped in black scarves emerged with a pole that has a flag attached to it. Since the smoke was still there, no one could know who they were, but their gut tells them that they were the same group that raided their town a few months ago, judging by the entrance they used which is similar to last time.

As the smoke cleared, it became obvious; it was the group that had once raided the town. In front of the group was a Pokémon that looked like a panda, his paws rubbed together, forming a wide grin for the townsfolk to be scared of. It was Pancham. “I told you all that I will be back! Now, charge, raiders!”

Several Pokémon instantly charged at the unprepared townsfolk whose expressions were mortified by the sight. The group that attacked the other group, however, have their eyes blazing with fury. “How dare them! This time, gang, we’ll not back down! Onwards!” The Incideroar said, his clenched paw punching upwards as a sign of bravery. The others held their clenched paws upwards as well, and then charged towards the raiding Pokémon, their moves ready to be cast towards them.

“Rocky, bring the injured to safety. I’m sure some of us are injured during the fight.” Sherman calmly commanded, his face serious while he stared at Pancham’s raiders. Rocky nodded, and in an instant, he left the scene. “I suppose me and Moray had to fight them?” Taiki asked, although he already knew the answer. Sherman subtly nodded. “But… my specialty isn’t fighting! Besides, I only have three moves!” Moray quivered.  
  
“I’ll help you! Now come on!” Taiki interjected while he pulled Moray by his paw and headed towards the battle. 

It was pandemonium. Everyone fought their hardest, but the number of raiders increased every minute, for there seemed to be always 2 Pokémon against one of the townsfolk. However, the townsfolk’s type were either good counters or resistant against theirs, so it wasn’t very hard to deal with, but having 2 Pokémon to deal with is a challenge. 

Some raiders caused damage on the buildings with their moves, often resulting with cracks and debris falling from the buildings, but it only enraged the townsfolk who had poured their heart and soul onto them again. Not wanting to be backed down again, they charged towards the raiders with their moves ready to be used.

Hoping that they could lessen their challenge, they often used their moves to deal damage towards the raiders. Taiki used Thundershock the most while Moray used Razor Shell to attack them. They attacked in every battle that went on, helping the townsfolk to defeat the raiders and in turn, they went to help the others.

Once they saw Incineroar that led the group fighting against three raiders, and despite being resistant against their type, he was slowly wearing out, his breath getting quicker, his eyes seemed heavy. Taiki and Moray intersected in between the fight while they cast Thundershock and Razor Shell respectively. As the three raiders collapsed, signaling that they fainted, Incineroar gave them a wink and a thumbs-up sign before moving towards other battles that took place.

After their recent battle, they stopped to breathe heavily, regaining their stamina while looking at the condition of the battle. Many Pokémon had fainted, however most of them were from the raiders, thanks to the efforts of the townsfolk and Lucky Star. Taiki grabbed two Oran Berries from his bag and gave one to Moray. He accepted the berry and both of them consumed while their wounds slowly began to seal and the red marks on their bodies began to fade.

Despite the positive outcome of the battle, they knew that the only way to end the war is to take their commanders out. Taiki looked at the entrance where it all began. There stood Pancham who told the newest raiders where to fight. His eyes were serious, for he knew that he was on the losing side, but he was determined to win. After all, they had never lost on a raid, and he’s confident that this would be another casual raid with victory in his paws.

“Come on.” Taiki prompted, his sights locked onto Pancham. Despite his body shaking a little, he mustered his courage, gave a confident look and ran along with Taiki towards the raid commander. The Pikachu and Oshawott are determined to take down Pancham once and for all, for the battle has gone long enough.

Pancham was done barking out orders when he noticed two figures running towards them. Not wanting to take risks, he prepped his hands and fired some Dark Pulses towards them. With great agility, they jumped right out of the pulses’ path and shot out their moves of their own.

Taiki initiated Thundershock while Moray dashed towards Pancham with his scalchop – which looked like a shell - taken from his belly and swung it towards Pancham. Both attacks had missed for he jumped backwards without missing a beat.

Pancham charged towards Moray who was recovering from his Razor Shell attack and used Body Slam towards him. However, he was forced to push himself towards the left to avoid Taiki that ran towards him with his charged paw. He rolled on the ground when he landed and got himself back up on his hind paws. Without hesitation, he shot a few more Dark Pulses towards them to retaliate, but they jumped towards the left, causing the pulses to miss.

“You guys had improved.” Pancham jested as he showed a sarcastic smirk.

“We try. And this time, your little raid will be over soon with the presence of Lucky Star.” Taiki jested back, trying to get onto Pancham’s nerves again, just like how he did during the battle on the hill and the Z-Ring Competition. However, Pancham’s smirk had only gotten larger.

“Your words won’t trigger me anymore. I had to listen towards my boss’ lecture for 2 hours in order to be resilient about it, and now your pathetic tactic won’t work again.” He bragged while he put both paws onto his hips.

Now that Pancham doesn’t fall for Taiki’s tricks anymore, it could mean that he will be harder to be beaten. Although he was easily beaten twice before, it was simply because he fell for his insults, and Taiki could not truly know how powerful he was. Maybe he had done some training after his recent defeat, but he had no way to make sure of it. His lips quivered, but his eyes were still knitted, not letting him to be afraid of Pancham.

Without any warning, Pancham shot out a dozen Dark Pulses towards Taiki and Moray. Realizing that they couldn’t dodge anywhere for the Dark Pulses being shot randomly, Moray held out both of his paws and used Protect to block the projectiles with Taiki behind him. Moray lowered his shield and used Icy Wind towards Pancham.

As he was being blasted by icy wind, Pancham felt his body being cold, unable to move quickly. He was slowed by the wind, which meant both Taiki and Moray are now able to fire back non-stop. While they charged towards Pancham with their moves about to be cast, he did a short, loud whistle. Not paying attention to his sudden whistle, they continued to charge, with Taiki using Thunder Punch and Moray using Razor Shell.

Suddenly, a blue and white figure appeared from the entrance and stood behind Pancham. It launched Ice Beam towards the two charging Pokémon. Unable to dodge, both of them were hit, but only Moray was frozen. His frozen form stood beside Taiki with his face facing the ground, while Taiki felt his entire body cold, his body parts feeling heavy to move. When he looked at the sudden attacker, his eyes were wide, jaw open, unable to comprehend what he just saw.

There it stood, the body with blue and white fur, along with a yellow beak. Its body reassembled a penguin. It looked at Taiki with no emotions at all, as if he was a robot. It was Joquid.

“Joquid…why…” he faltered, the truth dawning right in front of his eyes, but he doesn’t want to accept it. It was no wonder why Joquid wasn’t in the headquarters. He had joined forces with the raiders who had made an attack on his town. Despite everything, the only question was why, in which the Piplup answered coldly and monotony.

“I’m only joining his side so I won’t witness fights again.”

Pancham just stood there, now not slowed by the cold. He was proud of what he had done a few hours ago, where they saw Joquid and recruited him the second chance they get. He knew that everyone would be shocked. He knew that, out of everyone, Rocky will be the one that will be hit hard the most, for he was his best friend before it all began. With a smirk, he commanded arrogantly, “Finish the attack. He has to come with me.” in which Joquid nodded while he cast Bubble Beam.

Taiki, being slowed by Joquid’s Ice Beam, was unable to dodge the attack. He got knocked backwards, but he got up quickly as fast as he could. Pancham wanted to catch him for a reason or another, but whatever it was, it would be bad._ I have to be careful. I don’t want to hurt Joquid, but I don’t think I have a choice. I got to take him down first. _He quickly formulated a plan on his head while he used Iron Tail to ricochet Pancham’s Dark Pulse. When he heard the sound of rushing water in front of him, his instincts kicked in and jumped out of the way from Joquid’s Hydro Pump.

Pancham rushed in to engage close combat with Taiki with Joquid as well from behind. He was about to formulate a new plan when Joquid initiated Hydro Pump again, which caused him to turn around in response. As quick as lightning, he jumped to the right, successfully evading the water attack.

However, he was right onto Pancham’s line of attack, where his paw was clenched into fists and gave him a Sky Uppercut onto his exposed belly. A jolt of pain emerged from his stomach while he was being flung onto the air. Taiki held onto the pain for a while, his vision blurry from the attack, but when he began to fall down, he didn’t notice Pancham withdrew his fist, closed his eyes tightly. A dark aura began to formulate around his fist. When he was a few meters away from the ground, Pancham extended his charged paw and initiated Focus Punch towards Taiki.

Taiki skidded onto the ground, his body jumping on and about on the rough grass. As the momentum finally faded, Taiki’s body laid there, unmoving. He wasn’t dead, but he wasn’t conscious. He was like anyone else in the battle. A slight moan can be heard, but given the noisy atmosphere, no one could hear it.

Pancham punched the air in excitement. Finally, he thought, now everything’s going my way. Time to retreat. Boss will be so proud. He instructed Joquid to carry Taiki’s body and lock him in a cage before heading back to base while he walked towards a nearby Pokémon raider. He gave the orders to retreat, and with a loud screech, every raider in town acted robotically and ran towards the entrance, exiting the town while carrying their unconscious comrades.

Rocky, who had finished bringing the injured to a safe place, had heard the sudden loud screech of a Pokémon and the retreat of the raiders. Feeling curious of why they had done such a thing, he followed them without them noticing. But, he was able to stop his curiosity from bringing him towards the exposed entrance where everyone had gathered to leave. He stood behind the building, trying his best not to take a peek on the group. Not wanting to leave the scene without knowing why, he closed his eyes, concentrating on the scene, trying to find out what was going on.

With his Aura, he could make out an Oshawott who isn’t moving, and he assumed it was Moray who was frozen by a Pokémon. When he concentrated harder to get a closer look, he could make out a lot of the raiders, including Pancham himself. However, there were two bodies that had left the entrance. He willed himself to concentrate even harder until the point where he felt that he was surpassing his limit. For a glimpse, he could make out the outline of a Pokémon, but not the one that’s carrying it. _Two oval ears… seemed to have red cheeks… have a rectangular tail… wait…_ a sudden memory had dawned on him when he thought of the Pokémon’s features.

He had seen them before. It was Taiki, his human friend.

All of a sudden, he was filled with rage, shock, and determination. He doesn’t want to let them take away Taiki. As he was about to charge the raiders and about to cast a Focus Blast, two paws grabbed him from behind and pulled him backwards, not allowing him to go after them. Sherman had restrained his student from attempting to go after the group of raider Pokémon once he had felt the sudden rage from the Riolu. Rocky tried to release himself from the Lucario’s grasp, but as he was the evolved form of himself, he was obviously stronger than him.

“Rocky! I can understand your rage, but don’t act irrationally!” He shouted with a stern and concerned tone.

“Let me go! They shall not take him away!” He retorted, his gaze locked onto the vision of Taiki being taken away by a certain Pokémon.

“You are not able to overpower them all! Please, listen! We’ll get them as soon as we can, I can promise you that!” He tried to reassure Rocky. Rocky tried to release himself from his grasp for a while before his rational thoughts returned him after his sudden rage.

“I…” Rocky’s eyes started to be filled with ears. “No… I… can’t let him go…” He started to sob. “Taiki… please... don’t take…him…” Tears began to roll on his cheeks, and eventually landed onto the ground. He kneeled as the raider group began to leave the town.

While the rest of the townsfolk started to regroup with two of them defrosted the frozen Moray, Sherman sat beside the sobbing, red-eyed Rocky, his paw patting his back to comfort him. Minutes passed by as Taiki continued to kneel despite his hind paws began to numb. The sobs eventually stopped, but his tears continued to flow.

_I will get you home, Taiki… I may not know where you or Joquid is, but I will… find you two._ He thought while he wiped his eyes. _No matter what._

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	10. Campsite

“Taiki!”

  
“Taiki, wake up!”

“Taiki!! Come on, get up!”

A frightened yet rushed voice called out from an unknown source. However, the voice was faint for Taiki as the lines from reality kept being repeated over and over again. The voices of the lines were from him and other Pokémon that were from reality. He was conscious to hear them, but all he could see was darkness, and he couldn’t feel his body.

“Joquid…why…” Taiki heard his voice saying his line.

“I’m only joining his side so I won’t witness fights again.” A voice of a Pokémon he knew well, but he couldn’t accept the truth that it was him. Taiki’s body shook as he heard the cold, harsh words.

“Finish the attack. He has to come with me.” A Pokémon commanded the said voice to finish Taiki off. All of a sudden, he could see again, but what he saw was the body of a Piplup in his water move that missed Taiki, and then an uppercut from another Pokémon. He saw the two figures getting smaller as he flew upwards, and then quickly descended towards the earth. The final scene was a body that looked like a panda punching his stomach with his charged paw before all went black.

Suddenly, he could feel his head being shaken by someone, or something. With each second passed, the shake grew more violent and quickly, as if it was in a rush to get Taiki conscious. Finally, Taiki sleepily and groggily opened his eyes, only to see Jirachi with its both arms holding his head while shaking it. The shaking grew quicker than Taiki could comprehend, his vision getting blurry and felt sick while Jirachi, who didn’t notice him waking up, continued to shake his head.

“Wha- urgh, knock it off!” Taiki pushed Jirachi off. It was startled to be suddenly be pushed, but when it turned his head to see who had pushed it, it was relieved, if not, a bit annoyed.

“Do you humans sleep that long?” It asked, its eyebrows slightly knitted, showing its annoyance.

“Wait… urgh… my head’s dizzy…” was all Taiki could reply while he clutched his head, his vision spinning around in circles. His dizzy face said it all, enough for Jirachi to understand his slight sickness.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to- actually, it’s kind of justified, since you didn’t wake up immediately.” She scoffed as it showed a smirk towards him. Nonetheless, she raised its paw and pointed towards Taiki, and all of a sudden a light can be seen in front of her paws. The same light can be seen on top of his head. After it withdrew its paws, Taiki felt his vision going back to normal, his motion sickness was eased, and he was able to regain his senses without feeling like throwing up.

“Thank you, but me waking up late is also justified. I got knocked out by a charged up paw, and that is an instant knock-out for me.” Taiki answered her previous question, one of his eyebrows knitted while he recovered from the awful feeling.

“Fair enough. Now that the connection’s stable, might as well disappear and talk to you in your mind.” She said, and bit by bit, her appearance began to fade. Realizing what’s in store for him, Taiki immediately blurted out, “Wait, no! Stop!” but it was too late, for her physical form was no more.

“Look, I get that you don’t want your ears to be damaged, so I’ll try to keep my voice down. Besides, it consumes a lot of my energy to keep my physical form intact. And boy, I have a lot to talk about without me being fatigued while the connection is pretty stable right now.” She said, her tone going high for a bit before getting a bit low at the end of her sentence, clearly showing that she’s a bit irritated while keeping her mocking tone intact.

Taiki moaned, but despite that, he knew that he had no choice but to accept it. After all, she said that the connection was stable enough for her to tell him everything he has to know about his role in the Pokémon world. He reluctantly nodded, slightly annoyed but he doesn’t want to argue about it. There is no point for she had knew the consequences if she had raised her voice in her… whatever form she was currently in.

“Fine. What do you want to talk about?” He agreed with a resigned tone. He sat down while staring at the white space so he could at least get some comfort while listening to what Jirachi says.

  
“Alright. I’m sorry that I haven’t told you my name yet, so here’s a proper introduction. I’m Survia, and my job is to ensure the world of Pokémon is in eternal peace. At least, from major attacks. It’s an important role for a Pokémon to have, and by my lucky stars, I was… ur… fortunate to be bestowed upon the role. Although it meant leaving my team, I knew that it was for the best.”

“That’s my introduction. A few days ago, I did told you that there’s an awful feeling that I’ve felt recently, right?”

“Yeah.” Taiki nodded in agreement.

“And do you remember the day where all Pokémon had a heavy feeling on their chests and their thoughts being all negative?”

“Yeah, that. Did you feel it as well?” He asked, slightly curious.

  
“Nah. From what I can tell from my friends, the more good friends you have, the less pressure you will feel. The stronger the bond, the better. And I for one, don’t feel any because I have a lot of connections! Hee-hee.”

Taiki rolled his eyes, shaking his head. Her ego had been getting on his nerves for a while, but since she was a Pokémon who was able to do something impossible like this, he figured that he’ll keep his mouth shut, lest something would happen to him. With a slight grunt, he ignored it. Just for a bit.

“Anyways, the event happened not long after I’ve felt the awful feeling getting stronger. I could not fully comprehend it, but for your information, I’m working on it. But, what I do know is the awful feeling is connected to the… ok, calling it simply an ‘event’ is a bore. The… ur…. Oh dear, I am awful at giving names…Taiki, give it a name, would you?”

“Huh? Me?” Taiki’s eyes widened, not expecting the explanation to halt just like that. In spite of his best efforts, he could focus a bit on Survia’s explanation because it was a bit boring to him, despite being important. “Um… the… ‘Negativity Event’?” He suggested while he shrugged.

  
“Brilliant! And thus, the awful feeling is connected to the ‘Negativity Event.’”

Taiki face-palmed. He didn’t expect her to accept this simple name for the event, given that it was even simple for her to name it, but she chose not to.

“Although I can try to uncover which Pokémon had caused it, the mystery could be solved quicker if you can help me out.” Survia stated.

“How can I help? The world is vast and wide, and with my chubby, yellow legs-” Taiki questioned before Survia interrupted him.

“It’s called ‘hind paws’. No, I’m not finding faults since you’re a human, just pointing out the fact so other Pokémon won’t see you as a weirdo.”

  
“Okay… ahem, with my chubby, yellow hind paws, I don’t think I can uncover which Pokémon that caused the ‘Negativity Event’, even with a few decades!” He finally finished his sentence with an annoyed tone, his paws crossing.

“Well, you’re in luck. Apparently, the source is somewhere near the location your body is at, currently.” Survia said, before static sounds could be heard as she spoke. Taiki staggered back, clearly not expecting a sound like that.

“What’s going on? Survia? Can you hear me?” worried Taiki. And in response, more static sounds can be heard. However, amongst the sounds, he could hear Survia struggling to speak. “Something is… halting my connection… it’s from a Pokémon… quite possibly using a move…no worries…wake up…”

Suddenly, the world faded from a white colour to a gray tone. Alarmed, Taiki stood up, his paws clenched, prepared for a fight despite not knowing what he may face. All of a sudden, he heard Survia’s voice again, but the sounds of static overwhelmed her voice. His eyebrows knitted, trying to concentrate on her voice so he could hear what she’s about to say. Alas, he couldn’t make out the words for the static sounds began to grow louder in volume.

“Huh?” Taiki said before his vision faded into darkness. Unlike last time, he wasn’t in fear nor in pain. Instead, he felt his blood flowing within his limbs, his heartbeat pounding within his chest, the pain from his stomach. He opened his heavy eyes and saw light blinding him. He’s back into reality.

What he saw first was hay surrounded around him with metal bars. He turned his head slightly, and saw even more bars that confirmed his suspicion. He was in a cell.

He heard some voices as he was about to get up. As quickly as he could, he instantly dropped down, pretended that he was still unconscious, his face facing sideways towards the direction of the sounds. There, he could see two Pokémon talking to each other in hushed voices.

“… can’t believe I actually managed to catch him. Now that blue mutt would offer his reconstructed town for that punk’s safety, it’ll teach them not to mess with us!”

“That is correct.”

“Still, I have to go. It’s my turn to do the boring clean-up again at the camp. You stay here and guard the prisoner.”

  
“Understood.”

“Whatever you do, do not talk to him, at any cost. He’ll… soften you up. Once I return, he’ll meet his fate. I won’t take long.”

“Okay. I hear it loud and clear.”

As the Pokémon finished its sentence, he heard footsteps that went from loud to soft, and eventually out from his hearing range. From the tone and smugness of the voice, he knew that it was Pancham. After all, his pride and ego were the only ones that he is willing to fight for. The other Pokémon however, was the one that caused him to be into Pancham’s Sky Uppercut. Joquid.

Even though he had already known this for a while now, he still found it hard to believe that Joquid was working with Pancham and his goons this whole time. He sacrificed a lot during their time together, such as helped defeating Wickyu, quite possibly during the small attack at Estoria Town, and even using his beak to chip off some planks despite unwilling to do so. It’s unbelievable for Taiki, who saw him as a good model to be someone that is willing to help in any circumstances, despite the pain and suffering.

But now, he’s turned his back against him and the townsfolk… If any of the townsfolk had found out, Taiki can imagine that they would’ve been dumbfounded as well. After all, they knew Joquid for he is a townsfolk and a part of them. But… he couldn’t imagine how Rocky would’ve react if his old friend and partner-in-crime would betray the town they swore to rebuild.

While Taiki thought all of this, a thought struck him like lightning. Something that didn’t make sense amongst all this confusion.

Joquid, as far as he knew, was capable of talking like a normal Pokémon, just like any of them would. Sure, tones or accents does make one’s speech unique, but he had never heard of someone using a monotone voice to talk. Flashbacks occurred to him. He recalled the lines from Joquid when he asked his reasons of actions.  
  
“I’m only joining his side so I won’t witness fights again.” He said it without emotion nor a tone. It’s like a zombie that’s talking.

Just a few minutes ago, when Taiki was eavesdropping on Pancham and Joquid’s conversation, the same speech pattern was used again. For a second, he thought that was used only during the confrontation, but now he even used it when talking to the Pokémon that commanded him to guard the cell, as if his speech pattern was completely overwritten. Something is definitely not right here, and he wants to get to the bottom of it.

Taiki got up while he pretended to had just awoken from his slumber. Joquid noticed his movements, but he didn’t say a word. He just stared emotionless at Taiki. A moment later, he turned around to face the wall.

_Hmm… Pancham said he should not respond at all times. Maybe I should find a way for him to break that._ Taiki pondered.

“So, Joquid! It’s been a while, huh.” He started the conversation. Joquid didn’t make any movements and continued to stare at the gray stone wall. Taiki tried to engage with him, but in every attempt he did only made his anxiety to grow while Joquid didn’t respond his questions and statements. Pancham will do something towards him soon, thus he had to be quick about it.

Taiki sighed when he saw Joquid not giving him a care in the world, in which he decided to drop in the more irritable topics. “Joquid, are you mad because you can’t help the Snivy as well?” He asked, his head tilted. The only response he could get from Joquid is a slight turn towards him, but he quickly turned back towards the wall. _Out of all topics… guess I had no choice._

“So, I recently used another of those TMs, can you help me try them out?” He provoked again, which caused Joquid to turn even more towards Taiki, and he glared at him with his eyebrows knitted before turning back in an instant. Provocation after provocation was sent to leer Joquid who was cracking to follow Pancham’s only instruction. In every provocation, his eyebrows were knitted deeper, his breath quicker, teeth showing, growling slightly. The moment Taiki said, “Moray needed more planks to be cut, can you use Peck-”, he instantly gave a loud yell, but he covered his beak while he did so.

“NO ONE SHALL USE MY BEAK WITHOUT MY PERMISSION- wait, what?” Joquid quavered, his head turning from side to side, as if he was unaware where he was. When he turned behind, his eyes went wide as he saw Taiki in a cell. Suddenly, his body stiffened, his eyes quickly narrowed, and was prepared to turn back before his body was loosened again. This time, he bent to his knees, taking deep breaths as he looked at Taiki.

“Taiki… _huff_… I don’t know what’s going on… _puff_… I’m currently at my limits.” Joquid panted, his face darkened.

  
“Joquid? What’s going on? Why are you-” Taiki began to ask, his paw reached out to him, only to be recoiled by the pain from his paw. Joquid lifted his paw to stop him from saying any further when he glanced at Taiki. _Urgh, how many times have I been stopped in mid-sentence…_ He thought.

“I… am in a dream, watching what my body is doing… don’t know how… I’ll try to help… but unsure when… Anyways, you better do something quick… Pancham’s about to…”

Before he could finish his sentence, his body stiffened, and he turned his back against Taiki, his gaze set onto the walls again. Over a short period of time, Taiki felt some of his questions were answered, and he was relieved that the actual Joquid isn’t willing to do what he – or rather, his body – is doing, but it was as if he was being controlled by someone or something.

Just when he was about to use the same way to get Joquid back into control, heavy footsteps can be heard echoing in the room. He could see the stalk from the shadow that appeared from the wall with some deep-voiced chuckling. The shadow grew larger. Taiki gulped. _Crap… what will Pancham do? With my injuries, I don’t think I can get out of here with the both of them against me… but maybe… with the little hope I have, I could…_ His thoughts were stopped when Pancham appeared into the room.

He saw the Pikachu who was injured in many parts of his body and laughed heartily. When he stopped his laugh, he leered at Taiki. “Well, well, well. It’s the Pikachu that couldn’t run on all fours. I hope the cell is to your liking. You know, full of moss and dirty hay.”

Taiki’s eyebrows knitted, trying his best to not lash out at Pancham’s provocation. “I can run at all fours now, thank you very much. So, what are you going to do now?” He retorted, his gaze not onto Pancham but to the bars of his cell, refusing to see him eye-to-eye. Pancham scoffed at Taiki’s reaction.

  
“What do you think? I feel it should’ve been obvious by this point. You’re being used for ransom. For the village’s protection, of course, so we can destroy it again.”

“You’re stooping at the lowest of the low here.” His head instantly turned around to face Pancham, his teeth showing. “I tell you, for all the actions you had done to us, you’re about to regret it, sooner or later. They won’t give up their hard-earned village that easily!” Taiki fumed, his rage being shown towards Pancham.

“Well… if that’s the case, there’s always Plan B. My group has a Fire-type Pokémon, and let me say that his moves are blazing hot. Managed to drain out a pond with one of his moves, so to speak. You know the rest. Let’s get moving.”

While Pancham was busy fumbling with the keys to unlock the door of the cell with the occasional grunt of “Not this one…” Taiki began to stand up with a smirk on his face. During their small talk, Taiki tried to formulate a plan while controlling his anger against Pancham, and the plan he had was risky, but it was the only effective plan he had. It would be based on pure luck, and he hoped that luck would be on his side to get through all of this.

He began to focus his energy on his tail but his eyes continued to glare at Pancham to watch his movements. He doesn’t want him to realize he’s storing up for an attack. While he did that, an idea popped up. Since he can focus his energy to unleash Iron Tail, he decided to experiment by focusing the electricity to be on his tail. It was risky to try, but he knew that experiments could work out… in a way, that is.

  
“Alright, finally found the right key, now for you to…” Pancham said as Taiki immediately threw his electricity on his tail towards him. The electricity suddenly changed into a web, and it managed to land on Pancham, forcing him to be on the ground, trapped. “What is this- ow!” He shrieked as he attempted to push the electric web that covered him, only to be shocked. _Woah… I didn’t know electricity can do something as crazy as that…_ Taiki thought for a second before he charged towards his next opponent.

“Piplup…argh! Stop…yeow!...Him! ARGH!!” He commanded while he shouted in pain from Taiki’s electric web. However, before the controlled Joquid could do anything, Taiki hardened his tail and used Iron Tail to hit his head. The Piplup crashed onto the wall before slumped to the ground unconscious. Without missing a beat, Taiki carried him onto his shoulders, ignoring the fact that Joquid is ridiculously heavy for his size, and ran towards the exit. He had no idea what awaits beyond the exit, but all he needs now is to avoid capture.

…

…

While Taiki is making his escape, Rocky, Sherman, and a group of Pokémon are heading towards a dark, shadowy forest called Heian Forest, where the trees are dark enough to obscure most of the sunlight. Despite the strong sunlight lately, the tree’s leaves from the forest manage to block the light, which made navigation slightly harder.

An hour ago, after the raid from Pancham and his raiders, Rowley came back from Heian Forest. He was tasked to track down the raiders that retreated long after Taiki was captured so they could find their base for a rescue mission. He followed the raiders through Heian Forest, and despite being close to them since he had to follow them from tree to tree, the dark shade that the trees provided helped him to avoid detection.

A few minutes after flying around from tree to tree, Rowley could see light illuminated from a clearing of the forest. There were tents, average-Pokémon sized walls, and Pokémon-made spiral staircases. When the raiders went in the campsite through a gate between the camp’s walls, Rowley flew back to Estoria Town to relay the information.

Back at Estoria Town, Rowley told the townsfolk everything he knew. Incineroar, who was nominated as the rescue leader from the townsfolk, roared with delight. “Good job! Now we can rescue the yellow furball with this information!” He slapped Rowley at the back before realizing he had used too much of his strength onto Rowley. “Sorry.” He sheepishly apologized.

Rowley ignored the pain from his back and gave a nod, indicating that he doesn’t mind.

“Most of us have an advantage, since their Types are weak against us. Though, I believe that whoever their leader was, he would be a tough rock to crack. Same goes to Pancham.” Sherman said.

“Why don’t we all sneak attack and just… attack every single one of them at once? They’ll be disoriented from the sudden attack.” Rocky suggested, his face still grim over Taiki’s kidnap and Joquid’s disappearance. Yet, despite many protests from Sherman to rest, he willed himself to fight. After all, Taiki was the one who gave him courage to fight, despite the harsh odds. Fighting to rescue him is the least he could do to repay his deeds.

“I agree on the sneak attack, but attacking randomly would meant a disorganized attack. We have an advantage, we can’t let it go to waste!” debated Incideroar while he slammed his fist to his other paw. Rocky stepped back, a bit intimidated. Incideroar looked at the frightened Rocky and his eyes widened a bit. “Oh, right. Sorry, I’m a bit bashful sometimes. But Rocky, you got to stay strong. Do it for your friend, okay?” He smirked while he pat his shoulders, trying to be careful to not use too much force onto him. “Alright…” Rocky looked up at Incideroar and gave a small smile.

“Well, it’s all set. We’ll try to cover as much of their ground as possible. Just knock them out, rescue Taiki, and leave them be. We would’ve done as much trouble as they did yesterday.” Sherman said while he nodded.

“As much as I want to beat them up until they cry and solemnly regretted what they’ve done to the town, I agree. The shame of being defeated will be onto them, which is probably as powerful and deep as my punches would be.” Incideroar smirked, his eyes blazing with fury.

“Those who volunteered to fight, let’s go, while the rest stay and repair. Oh and, take care of Moray. He’s not taking the cold well.” Sherman commanded before prompted everyone to take action.

With that being said, Sherman, Incideroar, Rocky, and the volunteers marched towards Heian Forest, with Rowley flying over them to guide the way to Pancham’s campsite. As they walked, Rocky tugged the Lucario’s arm to get his attention. “Yes?” Sherman looked at him.

“If you happen to meet Taiki before I do… can you give him this?” He handed Sherman a small, brown pouch. Sherman took it and opened it. His eyes stared at the contents. “Why can’t you give it to him yourself?” He asked.

“In case something happens to him… I’m gonna distract whatever’s down there and help him get outta here. Who knows, maybe he had to take down the boss of the group.” Rocky replied.

Sherman closed his eyes, using his Aura to forecast what may happen later on. He did that for a while before opening them again to face his student. “Good thinking. I could tell him how to use it as well.” He rubbed Rocky’s head, ruffling through his fur.

After a while of trekking, they all noticed the light among the darkness. Smoke can be seen despite the low visibility. Incideroar commanded half of the volunteers to sneak at the bushes at the left side of the camp, while the rest should follow Sherman to the opposite side. Rocky’s heart was beating faster than ever as they approached the bushes and hid to conceal themselves. He had never been to a rescue mission like this before, and being at a mission like this is exhilarating.

Once Sherman’s group had hidden themselves into the bushes, Sherman raised his paw. A blue aura had emerged on top of his paw to signal Incideroar’s group that they are ready. He responded to the signal with a loud, deep roar that shook the ground, which was the signal to attack. Suddenly, an explosion can be heard from the other side of the camp, with smoke and dust clearly be seen. Shouts of horror and rage can be heard in the camp, and moves of various elements had been sent flying in random directions.

“That’s our cue! Break down these walls and charge through! Remember: knock them out! Rocky, go find Taiki!” directed Sherman, and instantly, everyone shot out their moves towards the camp walls. Not waiting for the projectiles to connect, everyone gave out a war cry and charged towards the camp. After the projectiles had exploded on contact, Sherman’s group emerged from the smoke caused by the explosion and started their attack on the alarmed raiders. Rocky, on the other hand, went to find a spiral staircase like what Rowley mentioned in the hopes to find Taiki.

…

…

_Woah, so many aftershocks... what’s going on? And why would they make so many passageways and rooms underground?!_ Taiki pondered while he tiredly carried Joquid on his back, his breath getting heavier from exhaustion. So far, he couldn’t find any rooms to hide in, for there seemed to be a Pokémon or two in every room. Despite his slow movements, he managed to hide or evade detection from various Pokémon that are now running from every direction.

At last, when he felt that he should stop and take a break, he noticed a door that was left open. Breathing quick and hard, he took his chances and take a peek in, hoping that there wasn’t anyone inside. Fortunately, there isn’t, and he used the chance to jump right in while kicking the door shut. The door closed with a bang while Taiki and Joquid laid down onto the ground.

Taiki got himself into a sit position and caught his breath from carrying Joquid and hiding from the raiders. While he rested, he could hear yells of various tones, mini-explosions that shook the ground, and collisions of many moves. He figured that a battle had took place, quite possibly from the townsfolk. Just when he thought about it, his heart pounded with excitement, for help has arrived to save him and Joquid. He wanted to go up and find Rocky, or maybe even a villager. Despite this, as he got up and prepared himself to life Joquid, he saw the Piplup already standing up on its own, looking at Taiki with no emotion. _Oh crap… not now…_

Joquid shot out an Ice Beam towards Taiki. In spite of fatigue and the wounds, he jumped away from the beam. Taiki doesn’t want to hurt him for he is his ally, but at this point he doesn’t really have a choice. It’s either knock him out or getting knocked out. Filled with determination and pain, Taiki focused his electricity to his tail and shot out Electroweb towards Joquid.

Joquid’s eyebrows knitted in rage, and he swiftly evaded the electric web. Suddenly, he threw back his head and shot out a gallon of water from his mouth towards Taiki with such strength and speed that Taiki was unable to dodge it, thus he took the damage dealt by Joquid’s Hydro Pump. His body slammed against the wall, he sincerely wished that his bag was still with him so he can eat an Oran Berry for healing, but it was taken away when he was unconscious.

Not wanting to give up just yet, he managed to stand up despite the pain and wounds that made him tremble. Joquid’s jaw dropped; he wasn’t expecting him to stand up again, even after taking such a huge blow. Using his confusion as his advantage, he shot another Electroweb towards Joquid. This time, he was so focused on how Taiki didn’t faint from the attack that he didn’t realize the electric web that was about to cover him.

The web pinned him down to the ground, trapping him. Screams of pain can be heard as electric coursed through the Piplup’s body. Since he was a Water-Type, the electric damage was dealt double for him. Once the web had lost its electric power, Taiki got a bit worried for Joquid’s body wasn’t moving._ Did I knock him out…?_ He pondered, but his question was answered as the body of Joquid suddenly appeared right in front of him, and he was darted towards him with his beak shining brightly. Taiki’s pupils shrunk as the powered beak was upon him, and he was unable to dodge from the close distance. He shouted out of fear.

All of a sudden, a yell can be heard beside him, and out came a blue figure with a semicircle shield blocking Joquid’s beak from dealing a blow towards Taiki. He pushed Joquid away with his shield and in an instant, his paw was infused with blue aura and he punched Joquid right at his face with it, instantly knocking him out. When he got up to see the attacker, his eyes went wide and his jaw opened as he realized it was his own old friend. Before he could recoil in fear, Taiki weakly stammered to him, “It’s alright… Rocky… thanks for the help…”

Upon hearing Taiki’s weak tone, he immediately turned back and grabbed one of the bags he had found during his search and returned it to Taiki. Taiki opened his bag and grabbed an Oran Berry before consuming it quickly, causing some of his injuries to fade away. Now that he was partially healed, he gave Rocky a weak smile. “Thanks, that helped. Let’s get a move on, I’ll go carry him.” He said before walking towards the unconscious Joquid and carrying him onto his shoulders.

  
“What’s… going on? How is he here with you? And why… is he attacking you?” Rocky stuttered, his face gone white. Just as Taiki expected, he was shocked that his old friend was at the campsite attacking him.

“I’ll explain later. Is the townsfolk raging war against the raiders?” Taiki answered while questioning him back. The both of them exited the room they are in and headed towards the spiral staircase to rejoin the fight above them.

  
“Yeah, it was a rescue mission. But it’s almost like a revenge mission as well. Where’s Pancham? I figured he-”

“Trapped him with Electroweb. A new move, I discovered it through experimenting just as he unlocked the jail door.”

“Uh… so let me get this straight. You experimented a move you had never known before, right before Pancham is about to torture you. You never knew if it worked or not, or even worse, makes the situation worse.” Rocky looked at him quizzically. Taiki shrugged.

“Well… it worked, and it was a move I didn’t expect, but effective.”

“… I sometimes wonder how strong you really are. And hopeful. And quite possibly, stupid and crazy.”

“Eh, you just summed up quite possibly everything about me. Thanks for the rescue, by the way.”

“You helped me a lot, it’s about time I repay you.”

  
“Fair enough.”

Taiki and Rocky climbed up the stairs, but before they got to the top, Rocky closed his eyes and used his Aura to check for incoming enemies, in case of a Pokémon waiting to attack them from above. Rocky shook his head. Taiki nodded and began to move upwards when he heard a scream coming from below. Suddenly, a figure came and pulled Rocky backwards, causing him to tumble downwards from the staircase.

Surprised, Taiki went downstairs with Joquid on tow, but just as the crashes of falling down had stopped, he heard Rocky shouting, “It’s Pancham! I’ll take care of this, go upwards! I’ll catch up… HHRAGH!” just as light flooded from below. _Probably his Focus Blast… I should hurry… oh my god, this Piplup weighs a ton_! Taiki thought while he climbed up slowly, for carrying a Pokémon while going up is a tiring task for him.

Once he had reached ground level, he expected a battle going on, with the noise of explosions, war cries, and launched moves. However, there was none of that. Dead silence filled the campsite. Everything the campsite had, such as tents or campfires, were either damaged or destroyed. Many Pokémon had fainted in various parts of the campsite. Fire, leaves, and melting ice shards were riddled everywhere.

Taiki saw some Pokémon standing there, and he recognized some of them, such as the Incideroar from the raid battle in Estoria Town, and the Buizel before the competition. They weren’t fighting; they just stood still. Still carrying Joquid, he walked towards them, but every step he moved closer towards them, he could feel… something. It wasn’t pressure. He just knew that something is about to happen, and it wasn’t in his favor. He disregarded the feeling as anxiety, but his gut was convincing him otherwise. Just when he was close to Incideroar, he asked, “Incideroar? Are you oka-”

“Taiki, watch out!” A voice ringed in his mind. His instincts kicked in and jumped out from Incideroar’s punch. He and Joquid landed onto the ground. Taiki got up, unable to comprehend what had happened. He looked around to find the source of the voice, but something about the voice seemed familiar to him… _Is this… telepathy? But I’m not dreaming! _He thought while he looked around for any signs of a dream.

“You aren’t! I’m Sherman, and don’t get close to them, they’re being controlled by someone!” Sherman’s voice ringed in his mind. It’s like when Survia spoke to him. _What’s happening?_ He asked Sherman in thought. He didn’t know how telepathy works besides in dreams, and speaking out loud doesn’t seem right to him.

“We were about to win, since we took them by surprise, but then some of our best allies were controlled by another Pokémon. They managed to knocked some of ours, and thus to prevent being controlled, we hid in the bushes. Luckily, I was at somewhere where I can see you, else you’re getting punched at!” Sherman replied, and there was a hint of worry and surprise judging from his tone.

Do you know what controlled them? Taiki inquired with his thoughts again, a bit confident on how telepathy works now.

“I think… your answer lies in the middle of the camp.”

Suddenly, Taiki heard a loud chuckle behind him. He gulped in fear and anxiety, for he was about to meet the Pokémon that was able to control other Pokémon. Slowly but bravely, he turned around. He saw a Pokémon in a black hood and a black cloth covering its body, making him unable to recognize what the Pokémon is.

He carried Joquid’s wings and wrapped around his neck, not wanting the Pokémon to take him. His face was a mix of fear and bravery, his teeth clenched, his eyebrows knitted once again. The Pokémon chuckled even more.

“Forget about the Piplup. He’s so weak that when I controlled him, he can’t even manage to wake up for a long time. Even if he does wake up, he’ll eventually get knocked out. Besides, I had a lot of strong Pokémon under my control.” He bragged with a deep tone.

“Whatever you are… I’ll make sure you’ll never cause fear around these parts again. You can count on that.” Taiki growled, not letting the Pokémon out from his sight. He grabbed a Reviver Seed from his bag and put it into Joquid’s beak in hopes to make the fight easier.

“Oh, I’m sure you will.” He jested. “Even if you manage to beat my controlled puppets, you still have to face me.”

It was true. Even with Joquid’s aid, there were a lot of controlled Pokémon he had to deal with, and even if that’s done, they won’t have any much energy to face him. He imagined he and Joquid’s health would be decreased to the brim once the controlled Pokémon were defeated, and later on, they would be the ones defeated as well. Even with a detailed plan, the chances of winning would be low, since none of them knew what he is capable of.

In spite of the harsh truth that they may fail, Taiki’s eyes remained focused on the black-hooded Pokémon, his eyebrows still knitted as deep as he could. He isn’t willing to back down just yet. Not without a fight.

“I suppose you’re not intimidated by what I’ve said. Hmm… you’re quite an interesting Pikachu. Most attackers would back away from what I say. Well, I suppose this battle would be interesting. Here…” He said before he bellowed.

“LeT mE sHoW yoU mY wRAtH!”


End file.
